Another Excuse to Link to Old Posts…

Check this out:

It’s a live action version of the theme song from this classic video posting I did.

Hilarity.

Thoughts on Caritas in Veritate: Part 3

Encyclical

Part 1

Part 2

I stopped at the end of Section 27 last time, let’s see if I can finish the Chapter…

Section 28:

“Not only does the situation of poverty still provoke high rates of infant mortality in many regions, but some parts of the world still experience practices of demographic control, on the part of governments that often promote contraception and even go so far as to impose abortion. In economically developed countries, legislation contrary to life is very widespread, and it has already shaped moral attitudes and praxis, contributing to the spread of an anti-birth mentality; frequent attempts are made to export this mentality to other States as if it were a form of cultural progress.”

Amen. China’s one-child rule is evil, as is Obama’s science czar’s forced abortion ideas to fight the population bomb boogieman.

“Some non-governmental Organizations work actively to spread abortion, at times promoting the practice of sterilization in poor countries, in some cases not even informing the women concerned. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that development aid is sometimes linked to specific health-care policies which de facto involve the imposition of strong birth control measures.”

UN Millenial Goals, anyone?

“Openness to life is at the centre of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man’s true good.”

Amen.

Section 29:

“There is another aspect of modern life that is very closely connected to development: the denial of the right to religious freedom… [People] frequently kill in the holy name of God, as both my predecessor John Paul II and I myself have often publicly acknowledged and lamented. Violence puts the brakes on authentic development and impedes the evolution of peoples towards greater socio-economic and spiritual well-being. This applies especially to terrorism motivated by fundamentalism, which generates grief, destruction and death, obstructs dialogue between nations and diverts extensive resources from their peaceful and civil uses.”

Sounds a little too much like Rosie (or, alternatively, political correctness, which is a sin). Can you not call a Mohammadean a Mohammadean?

“Yet it should be added that, as well as religious fanaticism that in some contexts impedes the exercise of the right to religious freedom, so too the deliberate promotion of religious indifference or practical atheism on the part of many countries obstructs the requirements for the development of peoples, depriving them of spiritual and human resources. God is the guarantor of man’s true development, inasmuch as, having created him in his image, he also establishes the transcendent dignity of men and women and feeds their innate yearning to “be more”. Man is not a lost atom in a random universe: he is God’s creature, whom God chose to endow with an immortal soul and whom he has always loved. If man were merely the fruit of either chance or necessity, or if he had to lower his aspirations to the limited horizon of the world in which he lives, if all reality were merely history and culture, and man did not possess a nature destined to transcend itself in a supernatural life, then one could speak of growth, or evolution, but not development. When the State promotes, teaches, or actually imposes forms of practical atheism, it deprives its citizens of the moral and spiritual strength that is indispensable for attaining integral human development and it impedes them from moving forward with renewed dynamism as they strive to offer a more generous human response to divine love. In the context of cultural, commercial or political relations, it also sometimes happens that economically developed or emerging countries export this reductive vision of the person and his destiny to poor countries. This is the damage that “superdevelopment” causes to authentic development when it is accompanied by “moral underdevelopment”.”

Amen.

Section 32:

“The dignity of the individual and the demands of justice require, particularly today, that economic choices do not cause disparities in wealth to increase in an excessive and morally unacceptable manner, and that we continue to prioritize the goal of access to steady employment for everyone.”

I’m sorry, but the only way I can read this statement is that Ratzinger is calling for economic equality of outcomes, which denies the humanity of all involved. 2 different people which 2 different skill sets are going to naturally have 2 different outcomes (amount of wealth, prestige, benefits, et cetera); an extraordinary person will have a much more desirable outcome than an incompetent person, ceteris paribus. Is he saying we should ensure that everyone get an equal (or equalish) outcome? The only way that will happen is to quash the things that make the people extraordinary. Thomas Sowell being spotted 50 points against Michael Jordan, for example. And everyone suffers the decrease in quality when job tasks are reduced to something an incompetent can handle.

And that is essentially the end of the chapter. I’m going to stop here to try and contain all of Chapter 3 in a single post (next time). It should be short enough (10 sections) that I can reasonably expect to be able to do so.

If You Have Not Been Following The Conversation…

…Reader Tony told me I should do some “research” on the “blue dog” Democrats (see the comments here).

There have been 2 important pieces of legislature so far this session: The Stimulus and Cap ‘n’ Trade.

Of the 52 Democrats in this loose confederation, 22 voted FOR Cap ‘n’ Trade. It passed by 7 votes. If the “blue dogs” voted in a block (id est, all 52 voting one way) against the gigantic energy tax, it would have failed. If 2/3′s of them voted against the bill (35), it would have failed.

Only 6 voted against the stimulus bill, a more overt strike against the principle of fiscal responsibility the “blue dogs” espouse. It passed by 56 votes. If the “blue dogs” showed solidarity against the bill, it might have failed.

And how come I did not hear of a “blue dog” block vote against Pelosi and Hoyer reattaining their leadership positions (both of which scored an ACU rating of 0% last session)? Would the “blue dogs” try to vote for someone more willing to build bipartisanship bridges? Or believed in fiscal responsibility?

Looks to me that, when it really matters for the Democratic party, the “blue dogs” will fall in line, principles or no principles. What evidence can you supply to show that the “blue dogs” vote in a block against the Democratic position in a major piece of legislation? Or even a large enough majority to kill a major piece of liberal legislation that flying in the face of their espoused beliefs?

I Wondered Why That Girl was on During Scott’s Time…

The one talk radio guy I listened to with any regularity (Scott Wilder) apparently got canned. He’s still going to do his annual Bible League delivery, but has started a blog to support his family in between radio jobs.

Buy some stuff (even though he is using the evil CafePress to sell ‘em) and pray for the Wilders (and the Laurens [I cannot recall her last name, but she was the Roz to his Frasier, if I am allowed to use sit-com references]). Or hit his tip jar.

Anti Facebook Statement ‘o the Day!: Censorship

Facebook shut down administrator’s access to their “Impeach Nancy Pelosi” fan page (whatever that nonsense means)! They do not do that to various anti-conservative and anti-American pages and whatnot! Censorship! Bias!

So, Facebook hates all things American, like apple pie and shooting things! When will the madness stop!

Interesting Read…

A liberal journalism graduate student wrote about the lack of political diversity at his university. The result? Calls of racism and other insults.

And so you know, both Republican professors at the University works for the Law School (one of which is the University President). How many undergrad classes do you think they teach?

“Now You Gonna Die!”

One of my favorite Johnny Cash songs. I have a soft spot for Cash’s humor songs…

My Wal-mart version (back when they had a moral compass) is bleeped. This one isn’t.

Tip of the Hat: Moe Lane

Hey, People are Starting to Get the Joke…

Remember when Arlen Specter doomed us all?

All the pundits in the punditosphere were saying how the ultimate irony would be if Specter, who doomed us all so he would not lose the Republican primary in ’10, lost to Toomey in the general election. I quietly disagreed (like I said then, I was focusing on the Franken half of our doom… and lizard people discrimination). It would be even more ironic if he lost in the Democratic primary in ’10.

People are starting to catch on.