Michie said:

bridging the divide between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

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Ah, no.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard blasted their one-time party as “warmongers” and “the party of censorship” while stumping for Donald Trump in Arizona Saturday.


“Today it’s become the party of war, it’s become the party of surveillance, it’s become the party of censorship,” Kennedy, 70, told the crowd at Arizona Christian University in Glendale.


“It’s no longer the party that I recognized.”

Gabbard, a veteran and former Hawaii rep who sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, frequently noted in her remarks that foreign policy was behind her decision to leave the party in 2022 and back Trump this election.

"How could I […] align with a party that stands for tyranny and war?” she said, before referring to Democrats as an “elite cabal” with “warmongers.”

There are some things I agree with and some I disagree with.

Now, the whole thing is a response to another article (one I cannot access due to paywalls), which mentions the electoral college letting Trump lose the popular vote but win the election. This is at least a valid point. But it then goes on to say:

After all, Trump became president in 2016 after losing the popular vote but winning the Electoral College (Article II). He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court (Article III), two of whom were confirmed by senators representing just 44% of the population (Article I). Those three justices helped overturn Roe v. Wade, a reversal with which most Americans disagreed.

While polls have indicated that while "most Americans" didn't want it overturned, I believe polls also show that "most Americans" support abortion regulation that wasn't allowed under the Supreme Court's prior abortion rulings.

But there's a larger problem, which is that this example ironically goes against its own narrative. The whole reason Roe v. Wade occurred at all was the US Constitution. Now, I think Roe v. Wade was a misapplication of the constitution and there's no right to abortion in the Constitution. But whether Roe was a correct or incorrect interpretation of the Constitution, the fact of the matter is that it was based, at least nominally, on the Constitution. In other words, you'd never have Roe v. Wade if there wasn't a constitution. This example ends up backfiring. Curiously, the article linked to in the opening post doesn't bring up this point when criticizing the original article despite it being such a strong point against it.

But let's focus on the linked article, which is mostly about defending the electoral college... and doesn't seem to do a great job.

Once again, the left takes out its big guns against the Electoral College. But they seem to lack a basic understanding of American Civics 101. By design, the founders did not give us a pure democracy — which they viewed as dangerous, potentially leading to mobocracy.

The Constitution empowers “we the people” through our elected representatives. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution deals with the electoral process. To sum it up: We don’t directly elect the president, but we vote for those who do. In all this, the Constitution provides a layer of protection — sparing us from would-be tyrants.

It then spends several more paragraphs advancing this argument: The US isn't a pure democracy, it's a republic where there are elected representatives, and that's why the electoral college exists.

This argument for the electoral college collapses practically right away when you think about it. Electing the president by popular vote is already not a pure democracy, because people are electing the leader rather than being the leader themselves. The extra layer of a republic is already there, with no need for an electoral college. But even if we suppose we need an extra layer on top of that layer, the article is rather silent on an obvious question: Why don't we do this for other offices, like governors? Zero states elect their governor with any kind of electoral college. If the electoral college is such a critical way to avoiding pure democracy--even though a popular vote for president already avoids pure democracy!--why aren't people who bring up this claim also advocating for governors to be elected via an electoral college? It's a considerable inconsistency.

The article also offers the usual misleading claims about the electoral college's reasons:

Without the Electoral College, the big cities and big states would always determine who would become the president. The Constitution thus protects the interests of those in the minority, who live in less populous states and cities. Small towns in Vermont were never meant to be ruled by majorities from California.

Sounds great, but there's not evidence as far as I can tell that this was in any way their reason for choosing the electoral college over a popular vote, despite the popularity of claiming it was in popular culture. The primary reasons were that states with lots of slaves would object to a popular vote as they would be disadvantaged by the non-voting slaves (this is why the electoral college implements the 3/5 compromise where, for the purpose of choosing representative numbers, slaves counted as 3/5 of a person) and the idea that the general populace wouldn't be able to choose presidential candidates well, and thus they should choose more informed people to make the decision. After all, with lower communication back then, it was expected most people would have trouble knowing much about people outside of their state. And so the idea was that the people would elect people they believed were knowledgeable, and the knowledgeable people would go out, discuss it amongst themselves, then cast their votes for who they thought were best.

Of course, with slavery gone, that first reason doesn't matter. And the second didn't work out either; the idea of people choosing electors to exercise independent discretion fell apart right away, and electors swiftly turned into mere functionaries whose job was to do nothing more than vote for candidates that were decided before the electors were even chosen. The only election where the electors exercised any kind of real independent discretion was 1796 (the first contested presidential election), and the result was that due to vote scattering, we ended up with a president and vice president of opposing factions! (basically, imagine if the result of the 2016 election was Trump being president and Hillary Clinton being vice president, or the result of 2020 being Biden becoming president and Trump being vice president) After that, people realized that having the electors actually decide for themselves who was best was a bad idea, and ever since the electors might as well be robots. Sure, you'll get the occasional faithless elector now and then, but they're the exception rather than the rule. Who electors vote for is decided before they ever go and cast their vote.

There were a few mentions of state size being a factor in the electoral college in the debates over it, but it was as I noted a fairly minor reason for it. In fact, it's actually not even that necessary; the Senate already provides a safeguard to small states. Furthermore, the electoral college does very little in the end to aid small states. The large states get way more votes in the electoral college than the small ones. Indeed, the most populous state early in US history was Virginia, and guess what? 8 of the first 9 presidential races were won by people from Virginia! Now, someone might say it's unfair to count Washington's victories as he was unanimously elected, but even so, we end up with 6 of 7. It's quite clear that the electoral college wasn't exactly doing much to benefit smaller states.

So it doesn't look good for the article when it's claiming the reasons for the electoral college are things that weren't the primary reasons and one of which (the "big cities" bit) does not appear to have been even a minor reason.

Honestly, if one looks at the discussions over the electoral college, it's pretty obvious they completely misunderstood how it would play out in practice, like when George Mason worried that under the electoral college, "nineteen times in twenty" no single person would manage to win a majority of the electors and thus it would always be falling to the House of Representatives to choose the winner. What he worried would happen "nineteen times in twenty" ended up happening only once in history.

There are some arguments for retaining the electoral college I think might have some merit, but pretty much all the original reasons for it are either irrelevant or turned out to not work. If the article wanted to argue that there are new reasons to retain it, that would be one thing, but instead if acts like the reasons it brings up were the original reasons, when they... weren't.

Maybe this post is a bit rambling, but seeing the kind of errors this article makes about the electoral college, which far too many people make, is rather annoying and I've been wanting to do a writeup on this sort of thing anyway.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man with an AK-style rifle pointed the firearm’s muzzle into Donald Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the former president was playing a round, prompting the U.S. Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials. The former president is safe and unharmed, and the FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of the Republican presidential candidate.

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Sir Joseph said:

Thanks for the response AlexB23 but you overestimated my tec abilities. I needed more specificity and got it from Maria. I'm on board now.

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You are welcome. Congrats on figuring this out from Maria.

The big puma fungus – credit Rewild, released.

The first and only fungus on a global conservation outfit’s ’25 Most Wanted List’ has been found in the rain-soaked mountains of Chile, almost 40 years after it was first documented.

The big puma fungus is actually quite small, and despite being on the ’25 Most Wanted List’ it’s also rather unremarkable, being slightly greyish brown, and no bigger than a [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]ake.

GNN is always abreast of updates to the brilliant conservation initiative Search for Lost Species which has rediscovered several wondrous species of plants and animals through collaborative scientific expeditions to look for forms of life not seen in over ten years.

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– credit, Shannon Bell, released.

Despite the Central Appalachia ecosystem being historically famous as coal country, under this diverse broadleaf canopy lies a rich, biodiverse world of native plants helping to fill North America’s medicinal herb cabinet.

And it turns out that the very communities once reliant on the coalfields are now bringing this botanical diversity to the country.

“Many different Appalachian people, stretching from pre-colonization to today, have tended, harvested, sold, and used a vast number of forest botanicals like American ginseng, ramps, black cohosh, and goldenseal,” said Shannon Bell, Virginia Tech professor in the Dept. of Sociology. “These plants have long been integral to many Appalachians’ livelihoods and traditions.”

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Tellyontellyon said:

By tree I mean a tree

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You don't define your use of a word by restating the word. From my limited study, but more than most people's, my above answer stands. Whatever idea you got of Christ possibly being crucified on a tree, be it a single palm tree trunk or a tree with branches, such counters historical evidence (primarily art) and church writings.

As the video explains well, most scholars today agree that Jesus was crucified in typical fashion on a T-shaped cross. The JW's dispute this in order to differentiate themselves from traditional Christianity, not so much from a necessary translation of the greek word used, which could mean either cross or stake. In any case, I don't see anyone else proposing a tree as you ask, and I think it'd be a hard proposition to defend. I'd suggest that there are far better, legitimately controversial and better questions to ponder on.

To deter cats i plant land mines!!!

Boy Scout Simon Starnes – Family photos

A boy scout and his family were volunteering at a local food pantry when he realized the outdoor seating was in need of a little TLC.

Looking for a project to help get him nearer to his title of Eagle Scout, and despite having little experience in carpentry, 14-year-old Simon Starnes got to work.

Sister BJ’s Pantry, run by Sister Barbara Joseph Foley, offers free meals to the homeless with a special community emphasis on Friday and Sunday mornings, when these less fortunate patrons come to sip free coffee and take a long breakfast on the days when the nearest food bank isn’t open.

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Beekeeper Ross Main and grandfather William – SWNS

A tad late for Grandparent’s Day, a man in Scotland recently found the hives tended by his grandfather that were presumed sold or lost for over 14 years.

Locating them in a quarry, he took up beekeeping in order to assume responsibility for his inheritance and his business now sells honey to farmers markets across Scotland.

Ross Main grew up with, and was very close to, his grandfather William, a beekeeper who regularly took him along to check on the bees.

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The word 'life' appeared in ESV Jn 6 13 times. Jesus declared that he was the bread of life.

Jn 6:

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

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Some months later, just before he was arrested, he promised to send the Paraclete/Spirit after his death.

63 It is the Spirit who gives life;

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The Paraclete-Sprit gives Zoe-Life.

Strong's Greek: 2222. ζωή (zóé) — 135 Occurrences

BDAG:
① life in the physical sense, life
② transcendent life, life

the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

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This life dwells in our human spirit.

Paul elaborated in Ro 8:

10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

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The indwelling Spirit, the Paraclete, gives us life in our human spirit. The Paraclete gives life and is life himself.

See also

• How to grow in faith

Some of the sound waves common in rock music stimulate the flesh to act of its own free will. Rock music is not the only music that makes this happen.

So it's not "satanic" per se, unless you're saying you are the devil.

Michu said:

Thank you sister and thank you for sharing your story!

I'm definitely taking that to heart, I have this belief though that he molds me, that I'm under-going a process that he wants me to. Only God knows for what reason, but so far I can see how the challenges has made me a better man. It's hard though, sometimes I wish I just feeled blessed and thankful. I need to have patience.

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God certainly does test us and mold us into His likeness. And molding can REALLY hurt at times. And yes, it can be hard. The way I began feeling blessed was reading all the verses where God tells us He is blessing us and repeating those verses to myself hundreds and hundreds of times. When I told myself I was broke, I stayed broke. But once I told myself I was blessed, things changed. It DID NOT happen overnight. I had to keep doing it even when I didn't feel like it, and even when I didn't see a darn thing happening. I had to prove to myself that God wasn't lying - that I really was blessed like He said. The Bible says God's word is light and truth, and it says God watches over His promises to perform them. You can choose to feel thankful. I thank God everyday for even tiny little things that nobody would notice. I have gotten in the habit of just thanking Him for anything and everything. And the Bible says God loves a grateful heart. You will be fine. I'm praying for you and I'm sure there are others on this board who are praying too. God bless you and keep you! (Yes! Patience is key!!!!)

“It’s called we do a little trolling”

Sister Mary Antona Ebo, a Franciscan Sister of Mary, is pictured in the front row at the center with her superior, Sister Eugene Marie Smith, as they march in Selma, Ala., March 10, 1965, to support voting rights for Black Americans. A new book from Ignatius Press, "Catholic Heroes of Civil and Human Rights: 1800s to Present," tells the story of 16 different Catholics who advocated for human dignity and is set for release Sept. 13, 2024. (OSV News photo/courtesy St. Louis Review)

The authors of a new book profiling 16 holy men and women who championed civil and human rights want readers to know: You can be a saint.

"Most importantly, they should understand that every single person, through the power of God, can do the things that these men and women did," Matthew Daniels, coauthor of "Catholic Heroes of Civil and Human Rights: 1800s to Present," said during a virtual book launch Sept. 9.


This is the cover of "Catholic Heroes of Civil and Human Rights: 1800s to Present," by Matthew Daniels and Roxanne King. (OSV News photo/courtesy Ignatius Press)

Daniels, a distinguished professor of law, political science and human rights at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina, and founder of the human dignity advocacy group Good of All, together with coauthor Roxanne King, former editor of the Denver Catholic Register and a freelance writer, spoke about the book at the virtual event held ahead of its Sept. 13 release.

More than 100 people registered for the hour-long event that took place on the 40th anniversary of the publication of a pastoral letter by U.S. Black Catholic bishops as a witness to Black American communities called "What We Have Seen and Heard." It also marked the feast day of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who ministered to Africans under slavery, and advocated for their human dignity, during the 17th century in Cartagena, Colombia.

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A priest who filed suit against Fr. Thomas Rosica says he hopes to encourage priests who have suffered sexual harassment and assault at the hands of other clerics to come forward, and because he believes Rosica should continue to be restricted from priestly ministry.



Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB. Image via National Shrine/YouTube

Fr. Michael Bechard of the Diocese of London, Ontario, told The Pillar this week that he hopes his story might encourage other priests harmed in the Church to find healing.

The Pillar reported last month that a Canadian priest had filed a lawsuitalleging that he was sexually assaulted by the formerly influential media figure Fr. Thomas Rosica during the run-up to World Youth Day 2002, which was held in Toronto.

The Pillar subsequently reported that the same priest had lodged a canonical complaint against Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the Diocese of London, Ontario, alleging that the bishop had failed to act when informed about his allegations against Rosica.

The lawsuit was filed under a pseudonym, and the priest was not identified in The Pillar’s reporting.

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Gregory Thompson said:

Thank you for sharing.

Sometimes having an audio bible playing the background helps to magnify the effect of things being brought back to remembrance by the Holy Spirit.

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That is very good advice. Very effective tool for learning.

CV NEWS FEED // Courage International, a Catholic apostolate that ministers to those who experience same-sex attraction, will hold a weekend retreat in Southern California from November 15-17.

As CatholicVote previously reported, “Courage International was founded in 1980 to provide a community and resources for persons who struggle with same-sex attraction and want to live chaste lives according to Catholic Church teaching.”

According to the timeline featured on Courage’s website, in 1981, the members decided on the five goals of the apostolate: chastity, prayer and dedication, fellowship, support, and good example. Later that year, the apostolate was named Courage.

The upcoming retreat is for members of Courage as well as for members of EnCourage. The latter supports families and loved ones of those “who identify as LGBTQ,” according to Courage’s website.

A press release from Courage states that the retreat is an opportunity “to spend time in prayer and fellowship with Courage and EnCourage brothers and sisters as we nourish our minds, bodies, and souls with daily Mass, confessions, Holy Hours, the Liturgy of the Hours, and inspirational talks.”

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Angel Studios, a company that has helped produce, fundraise and distribute popular faith-based movies and television programming, is set to become a publicly traded business as it seeks to build on its success.

In a statement published Wednesday, Angel Studios stated that it entered into a business agreement with Southport Acquisition Corporation with the goal of becoming a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ listed under the symbol "AGSD."

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

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Former University of Louisville professor Dr. Allan Josephson, above, alleges he was fired after voicing his personal views about treating youth with gender dysphoria during a panel at The Heritage Foundation in 2017. | Courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom

A former professor at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, who alleges he was harassed and fired for voicing his opinions about gender dysphoria, is headed back to district court for trial after achieving victory in an appeals court last week.

A three-judge panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in favor of Allan M. Josephson, who claimed he was demoted and essentially ousted by the University of Louisville in 2017 after sharing his opinions about how best to treat young people suffering from gender dysphoria during a panel at the Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank Heritage Foundation.

"The defendants argue that they are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity and
qualified immunity. The district court disagreed, and so do we," the 6th Circuit decision written by Biden appointee Judge Andre Mathis states.

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One of the most compelling tales in the Old Testament is the story of Samson and Delilah. It's a narrative that has captivated audiences in Sunday School classes, sermons, and even Hollywood films. The tale is fascinating because it offers a vivid illustration of how a man can be utterly undone by his desires, abandoning common sense and devotion to God in pursuit of fleeting pleasures.

What makes Samson’s story particularly intriguing is the contrast between his physical strength and his moral weakness. Samson was considered the strongest man in Hebrew history, capable of single-handedly defeating entire armies. Yet his downfall didn’t come at the hands of a mightier warrior, but rather through the deceptive allure of a woman. Samson’s lust ultimately led to his undoing, serving as a cautionary tale for countless others who have followed a similar path to ruin.

Lust is a powerful force, and it has been the cause of downfall for many throughout history. From defrocked pastors to disbarred judges, from disgraced politicians to impeached presidents, the desire for sexual gratification has been a thorn in the side of men for ages. It’s a sin that has destroyed families, ruined careers, and shattered lives.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deals directly with the sin of lust. He explains that the Law of God goes far beyond mere outward obedience. The Law’s true purpose is to address the heart’s intentions, not just external actions. In Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus challenges the superficial understanding of the Law regarding sexual purity, showing that God requires more than just abstaining from physical acts of sin; He also demands that we flee lust as well.

1. The Letter of the Law: 'You shall not commit adultery'


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imsaneru said:

so I don't know what to think.

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imsaneru said:

They are not vultures. They take what they want and leave the rest for the next animal to eat. Use to be they would hunt down and kill any animal that would be a danger to children. Now the federal parks are starting to re establish the ecology the way it was before man

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AlexB23 said:

That is true. For instance, with the inquisition, the Vatican was most certainly corrupt, and eventually had to correct their own mistakes years later.

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Don't forget that if you're referring to the Inquisition that was in operation in Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was not an inquisition sanctioned by the Holy See---it was an organ of the Spanish crown, operated by a renegade friar named Tomas Torquemada; the Vatican had nothing to do with it. The Holy See condemned the cruelty and excesses perpetrated by the Spanish Inquisition several times.