Fr. Barron: More on the Contraception Mandate - on NRO

That's Fr. Robert Barron, our modern day St. Paul, and founder of Word on Fire, who has been featured many times on this Blog.  His previous commentary on the Contraception Mandate can be viewed HERE.

Yesterday, in a wonderful turn of events for Christian Conservatives, Fr. Barron was invited to write on The Corner on National Review Online.


As is always the case, Fr. Barron wrote with clarity, conviction, and courage.  His piece was entitled: "HHS Mandate: Anti-Catholic and Un-American."  It's a short and insightful piece that can be read by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290600/hhs-mandate-anti-catholic-and-un-american-rev-robert-barron

 Note: The above photo shows Fr. Barron entering the Cathedral of San Chapelle in Paris, where he was filming his ten episode series, "Catholicism," which will be shown on Sunday nights during March on EWTN.

Col. Martha McSally: An Iron Lady for Arizona

This was Martha McSally back in 2002 on 60 Minutes.  At that time she was challenging the DoD rule that said she had to wear the Muslim Abaya when leaving her base in Saudi Arabia.  The lady had guts, but by then she was already the first American woman to fly in combat since the 1991 lifting of the prohibition of women in combat, and the first woman to command a USAF fighter squadron.

She retired from the Air Force in May, 2010, and today, announced her intention to run in the special election to replace Representative Gabrielle Giffords in her Arizona district.  The full story is in today's Tucson Sentinel Online.

It could probably go without saying that she is running as a Republican.

Is Mitt the Second Coming (of the Gipper)?

William Tucker, writing at The American Spectator Blog, thinks "Romney Can Be the Next Reagan."  Tucker bases his opinion on Romney's temperament, which, he says, is very similar to the Gipper's.  Herewith some clips from the article:

Think back to Reagan's famous rejoinder to Jimmy Carter in their first and only debate, "There you go again!" What was the significance of that? Carter had just finish a long, beady-eyed recitation about national health insurance, which, he said, promised "not inpatient care but outpatient care" with "an emphasis on hospital cost containment," and how Candidate Reagan, of course, was opposed to all this because he had opposed Medicare in 1964. Reagan stood shaking his head and laughing the whole time and when it finally came his turn, he sighed , "There you go again."

The audience laughed and why not? Carter's expressionless, robot-like recitation typified his whole presidency. He was obsessed with details. Reagan's genial response was that when he opposed Medicare in 1964 it was because he favored another piece of congressional legislation that relied less on government. But in a single moment, Reagan had also revealed Carter as a narrow-minded pedant while he was an affable, good-natured leader capable of keeping things in perspective. Voters liked what they saw and that ended Carter's Presidency.

Mitt Romney has a very similar temperament. In fact he had a "There-you-go-again" moment in the last debate when Rick Santorum launched into his inevitable fulmination about how Romney will never be able to debate President Obama on Obamacare because of Romneycare. Romney gave his usual rejoinder but then added, "It's nothing to get angry about." That's the kind of perspective a President needs.

As Jimmy Carter would ultimately discover, this election will not be decided by who can memorize the longest list of talking points. It's going to be won by the candidate who voters feel most comfortable having in their living rooms. Obama passed the test in 2008. He was young and fresh and seemed to have a level head while McCain appeared old and tired. It was a fairly easy choice. But the President won't have those advantages this time around. After four years of mismanaging the economy, he won't be able to talk hope and change. His only option will be to go negative, portraying Romney as a rich boy who doesn't care about anyone who doesn't have money. That may work for a while but at some point people are going to want to hear something positive. At that point they will start listening to Romney. If he sounds like Reagan, they will find him an attractive and plausible alternative.

Tucker ends his piece by quoting a hit piece by Lee Siegel in the New York Times, who called Romney "the whitest white man to run for president in years." 

He is nearly always in immaculate white shirt sleeves. He is implacably polite, tossing off phrases like "oh gosh" with Stepford bonhomie. He has mastered Benjamin Franklin's honesty as the "best policy"… He speaks of the founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence as phases of national creativity that we are destined to live through again. He frequently accompanies his recitative with verses from "America the Beautiful."

Now, if a hit piece like that hurts Romney, we're in a lot more trouble than we thought.

Justice Ginsburg Disses the United States Constitution - in Egypt!

What can one say when one of nine people in the United States charged with the sacred duty of interpreting our Constitution, by determining the constitutionality of federal laws, chooses to insult that Constitution, and those who created it, in a country where most of the people have indicated a preference for living under Sharia?  Well, the gang at Trifecta: Bill Whittle, Steve Green, and Scott Ott have plenty to say about that, and their tempered restraint in stating their strong objection to the contemptible way in which the associate Justice refers to our Constitution is admirable.

"There be Dragons" - An Inspirational Movie

"There Be Dragons" is the story of one of the newest saints of the Catholic Church, Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei.  According to the website: it is "an epic tale of revolutionaries and saints in a time of civil war; a story of love and heroism amid jealousy, hatred and violence; and a heartbreaking drama about the power of forgiveness to break the chains of the past."

It's all that and more for someone interested in finding transcendence even in the most trying of times.

"Terrestrial Energy" by William Tucker

William Tucker published his book, Terrestrial Energy in 2008, and it hasn't garnered a lot of attention to my knowledge.  Must be a reason for that.  The video provides a good introduction to the book, which you can purchase at Amazon.com.

Here are some of the testimonials about the book:

Love it or hate it, the serious citizen should be aware of the often obscure and confusing intricacies of nuclear power not the weaponry and Tucker s new book makes this task easy and interesting. --Ted Rockwell, former technical director of Admiral Hyman Rickover's nuclear navy, and author of The Rickover Effect and Creating the New World: Stories and Images of the Dawn of the Atomic Age

Nuclear power can cure energy dependence, pollution, high fuel bills and...BOOM! Just kidding. William Tucker takes the boom out of the atom and chases away the cancer, the giant mutant insects and the Three Mile Island residents who claim to glow in the dark. Read Terrestrial Energy and help high-binders, hacks and eggheads take a hike. --P.J. O'Rourke, author of Peace Kills and On the Wealth of Nations: Books That Changed the World

William Tucker is one of those rare contrarians who exists on a plateau far above politics. One can take the time to absorb his thoughts now, at leisure as in the case of this book about Neo-nuclear Energy or wait a long time and try to find them in a whadud he say panic. --Tom Wolfe author of The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities

In Terrestrial Energy, Mr. Tucker argues that nuclear power is the best option realistically available to us to reduce our national dependence on foreign oil and address the nettlesome matter of "greenhouse" gas emissions. About the other alternatives he is skeptical, believing that they will deliver too little energy at too high a cost. Mr. Tucker, a veteran journalist, has been writing about energy and the environment for some 30 years and knows whereof he speaks.--Wall Street Journal, December 2008

Powerfully written, Terrestrial Energy is a remarkably accessible book that should convert any number of skeptics with its pro-nuclear sermon. However, its strength lies not in the zeal this preacher brings, but in the dispassionate way he makes the case for nuclear in the context of all our energy options. More than just filing a brief for nuclear power, Terrestrial Energy really offers a first-rate primer on energy.--American Spectator, December 2008

Curtis Martin: A Paradigm for The Hall of Fame

Curtis Martin, the fourth leading rusher in NFL history, who ran for 1,000 yards in each of his first ten seasons, made it to the Hall of Fame on Saturday, but his stellar football career is not what defines this great and good man.  This piece by Steve Politi of the Newark Star Ledger is a must read for all football fans - especially those who think character should count when Hall inductees are chosen.

Two Visions of America

President Ronald Reagan would be 101 years old today.  The video is from Americans for Prosperity.  We certainly do miss President Reagan's optimism and love for America.

Here's one of his great moments with the media's Sam Donaldson:

Sundays are for Beauty: Mozart, Symphony #40

Trevor Pinnock conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Mozart's Symphony #40, the next to the last symphony he wrote.

Have a Beautiful Sunday.

Michael Ramirez: The Church of Obama

(click to enlarge)