What I oughtn't to blog, but I blog anyway
Otto Clemson Hiss
Otto Clemson Hiss
29 February 2004
Eleanor of Aquitaine: "In a world where carpenters get resurrected, everything is possible."
--Katharine Hepburn, "The Lion in Winter" (1968)
Fr. Rob Johansen notes that the admirable Fr. Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, organized a trip to see "The Passion."
I wonder how many people know that Fr. Sirico's brother, Tony, plays Paulie "Walnuts" on "The Sopranos"? I was surprised enough when I found out (though I do see a slight resemblance).
Backlash
Jami Bernard of New York's Daily News tells us of the deluge of mail responding to her harsh review of "The Passion":
Most of the hundreds of people who wrote in didn't wait to see the movie for themselves before giving me a piece of their mind. ...Well, Ms. Bernard, if those hundreds of people "didn't wait to see the movie for themselves" before sending hate mail to you, then you can hardly blame the film for their anti-Semitism. I would say it was pre-existing.
Some attacked me personally, dismissing my looks and assuming that if I didn't like the movie, I must be Jewish, thus betraying their own prejudices.
Just as religious leaders of all stripes have feared, the movie has become a lightning rod for the anti-Semitic undercurrent that runs through society - many of the letters I received dragged out old canards about Jews running Hollywood, the media, and having too much money.
And Ms. Bernard's original review was unfair enough to make anyone angry (though that does not excuse anti-Semitism; besides, I don't know what Ms. Bernard's religious background is). In her review, she grasped desperately at anything she could criticize. For example:
The most offensive line of the script, which was co-written by Gibson with Benedict Fitzgerald, about Jews accepting blame, was not cut from the movie, as initially reported. Only its subtitle was removed.Forgive me, Ms. Bernard, if I find this rather trivial. How many average anti-Semites are linguistically prepared to understand that some untranslated Aramaic lines mean "His blood be upon us and on our children"? I would guess that even Ms. Bernard did not know it until she heard it from Abe Foxman.
28 February 2004
"Lord Tyrawley and I have been dead these two years, but we don’t choose to have it known."
--Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield; quoted in Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson.
A long time ago, in a land far far away...
Ralph Winter and Mark Joseph write in National Review Online:
When the dust settles after March 1, many of the rules of the filmmaking business may need revisions. For the first time, the industry will realize the profits that have been forfeited over the years by creating films that were out of sync with the interests of the citizens of the red states. In a post-Passion world, whoever figures out as Gibson apparently has, how to consistently tell stories that appeal to the heartland will be the beneficiary of the wellspring of affection Gibson's film has generated among people traditionally hostile to Hollywood.While the facts here are true, "The Passion" is not entirely revolutionary. Some have referred to Hollywood in its Golden Age as "a Jewish-owned business selling Roman Catholic theology to Protestant America." Mel Gibson just replaced the first term in the formula.
(link via Cacciaguida)
Briefly noted
I just saw "The Passion of the Christ" again, and I cannot get one scene out of my head (but I really have not tried). When Jesus falls while carrying the cross, Mary has a flashback to a fall from his childhood. She rushes to Him (on the Via Dolorosa as in His childhood) and says, "I'm here." The battered Jesus replies (if I recall correctly), "You see, Mother, I make all things new." I thought my heart had stopped when I heard that line.
It is not from the Gospels [gasp!], but from Revelation 21:5; and its insertion there was not only well within the bounds of artistic license--it was inspired.
Isn't it a bit odd that those who tell us that this film is not faithful to the Gospels are usually the same ones who tell us that the Gospel accounts of the Passion are rather lean? One has to fill them out somehow for dramatic presentation, and I think nearly all of Gibson's artistic choices in the film were profound and in many cases breathtaking.
Matthew of the Shrine of the Holy Whapping (an Ultramontane Monty Python troupe) links to Tradition in Action, which (despite the group's humorlessness) has quite a collection of humorous papal photos, clumsily titled "Revolution in the Church in Photos." It is exceedingly hard to take TIA seriously when it says that the following picture shows the pope "putting aside his dignity as the Vicar of Christ, [welcoming] with a theatrical gesture cheering fans at a youth event":
I am unconvinced. I wonder what TIA thinks of that noted hippie, Pope Pius XII:
Whatever the merits of TIA's case (and they are few), grasping at straws certainly weakens it. Viva il Superpapa!
27 February 2004
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: "Colonel--that Coca-Cola machine. I want you to shoot the lock off it; there may be some change in there."
Colonel "Bat" Guano: "That's private property."
Mandrake: "Colonel! Can you possibly imagine what is going to happen to you--your frame, outlook, way of life, and everything--when they learn that you have obstructed a telephone call to the President of the United States? Can you imagine? Shoot it off! Shoot! With a gun! That's what the bullets are for, you twit!"
Guano: "Okay. I'm gonna get your money for you. But if you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you?"
Mandrake: "What?"
Guano: "You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company."
--Peter Sellers and Keenan Wynn, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)
Tip-toeing 'round the elephant
I have not yet read all of the John Jay Research Study. I will at least say that Lent was a fitting time to release it (if ever there was such a time). Comments are forthcoming.
And to distract my readers in the meantime: Fiat!
Several readers have asked about the soundtrack to my edited "Passion." I did not compose it, of course; I'm no Victor Lams. I wonder if anyone can guess what it is?
Impostor
I assure my readers that, pipe and handgun notwithstanding, this is not a likeness of me. This is closer.
'Anglicanism is going to tip into the sea'
I knew Canon Norman was one for Rome when I saw the title of his book: Anglican Difficulties: A New Syllabus of Errors.
So how can someone who believes that the Church of England is collapsing belong to it?I don't know what to make of his praise of Derek Jarman's films; but I won't rush to judgment ("That's for a vengeful God to do," as Maude Flanders once said). Welcome home. Bring your friends--there's room for plenty more.
The answer is that Edward Norman will leave the Church of England when he retires as a member of York Minster's chapter in May. Later this year, he will be received into the Roman Catholic Church by a Cambridge contemporary, Fr Dermot Fenlon, at the Birmingham Oratory. He has started attending Mass in Catholic churches, unobserved in collar and tie.
Flogging the dead horse...
The Associated Press reports that Saudia Arabia's new visa policy all but declares the country judenrein.
The Anti-Defamation League's homepage, at the time I post this, is still almost entirely devoted to "The Passion of the Christ," with oodles of links and a prominent cross-laden banner. Isn't there real anti-Semitism they should be tackling?
Don't act surprised
My inner child is forty-five years old!
I've never really liked children, not even when I
was one. I want things neat, ordered, and
adult--fine wine instead of french fries, pina
coladas by the pool instead of beach sand
between my toes. Now if only my fellow adults
would stop acting like such, well, children!
How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla
I don't think it's accurate. The results only go as high as 45. My inner child is at least twice as old, and obviously senile.
26 February 2004
Update: The broken link to the kinder, gentler "Passion" is now fixed.
By the way, a reader offered the following review of my parvum opus, à la His Holiness: "It nearly wasn't."
"The Passion of the Christ": Edited for Accuracy and Sensitivity
I was wondering exactly what sort of film might have pleased the academics and activists who are frantically telling us how inaccurate, harmful, and needlessly brutal "The Passion" is. They also tell us it does not show enough of Christ's early life, as opposed to His...well, Passion. I believe this might be the best film they could come up with, or the least offensive. It is not a trailer, mind you, but the whole film. Enjoy.
The Artist of the Capitol
The Washington Post reports on the efforts to restore the murals and fame of Constantino Brumidi, the artist whom Pope Pius IX tossed out of Italy, much to the benefit of the U.S. Capitol. 2005 will mark the bicentennial of his birth, the sesquicentennial of his commission to work on the Capitol, and the 125th anniversary of his death.
I have always admired the fresco above, "Apotheosis of George Washington," which is in the eye of the Rotunda of the Capitol. Brumidi's sepia-toned frieze there is also quite effective. Readers who do not mind large .pdf files may enjoy this Senate-sponsored pamphlet on the "Artist of the Capitol."
Brumidi's Crucifixion murals are not to be missed; they are here in New York at the Church of the Holy Innocents (see here; scroll down just past the middle of the page) and at Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen.
The Blacklist
Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, the principals of DreamWorks, have privately expressed anger over the film, said an executive close to the two men.I thought Hollywood-types were all for free speech and against McCarthy-style blacklists. Maybe they'll let Mr. Gibson work again if he names names.
The chairmen of two other major studios said they would avoid working with Mr. Gibson because of "The Passion of the Christ" and the star's remarks surrounding its release.
Neither of the chairmen would speak for attribution, but as one explained: "It doesn't matter what I say. It'll matter what I do. I will do something. I won't hire him. I won't support anything he's part of. Personally that's all I can do."
25 February 2004
Ash-Wednesday
by T.S. Eliot
A copy of the poem, inscribed "To Scott Fitzgerald with the author's homage."
I
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?
Because I do not hope to know again
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again
Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessed face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice
And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us
Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
II
Lady, three white leopards sat under a juniper-tree
In the cool of the day, having fed to sateity
On my legs my heart my liver and that which had been contained
In the hollow round of my skull. And God said
Shall these bones live? shall these
Bones live? And that which had been contained
In the bones (which were already dry) said chirping:
Because of the goodness of this Lady
And because of her loveliness, and because
She honours the Virgin in meditation,
We shine with brightness. And I who am here dissembled
Proffer my deeds to oblivion, and my love
To the posterity of the desert and the fruit of the gourd.
It is this which recovers
My guts the strings of my eyes and the indigestible portions
Which the leopards reject. The Lady is withdrawn
In a white gown, to contemplation, in a white gown.
Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness.
There is no life in them. As I am forgotten
And would be forgotten, so I would forget
Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said
Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only
The wind will listen. And the bones sang chirping
With the burden of the grasshopper, saying
Lady of silences
Calm and distressed
Torn and most whole
Rose of memory
Rose of forgetfulness
Exhausted and life-giving
Worried reposeful
The single Rose
Is now the Garden
Where all loves end
Terminate torment
Of love unsatisfied
The greater torment
Of love satisfied
End of the endless
Journey to no end
Conclusion of all that
Is inconclusible
Speech without word and
Word of no speech
Grace to the Mother
For the Garden
Where all love ends.
Under a juniper-tree the bones sang, scattered and shining
We are glad to be scattered, we did little good to each other,
Under a tree in the cool of the day, with the blessing of sand,
Forgetting themselves and each other, united
In the quiet of the desert. This is the land which ye
Shall divide by lot. And neither division nor unity
Matters. This is the land. We have our inheritance.
III
At the first turning of the second stair
I turned and saw below
The same shape twisted on the banister
Under the vapour in the fetid air
Struggling with the devil of the stairs who wears
The deceitul face of hope and of despair.
At the second turning of the second stair
I left them twisting, turning below;
There were no more faces and the stair was dark,
Damp, jagged, like an old man's mouth drivelling, beyond repair,
Or the toothed gullet of an aged shark.
At the first turning of the third stair
Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit
And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene
The broadbacked figure drest in blue and green
Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute.
Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown,
Lilac and brown hair;
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
Climbing the third stair.
Lord, I am not worthy
Lord, I am not worthy
but speak the word only.
IV
Who walked between the violet and the violet
Who walked between
The various ranks of varied green
Going in white and blue, in Mary's colour,
Talking of trivial things
In ignorance and knowledge of eternal dolour
Who moved among the others as they walked,
Who then made strong the fountains and made fresh the springs
Made cool the dry rock and made firm the sand
In blue of larkspur, blue of Mary's colour,
Sovegna vos
Here are the years that walk between, bearing
Away the fiddles and the flutes, restoring
One who moves in the time between sleep and waking, wearing
White light folded, sheathing about her, folded.
The new years walk, restoring
Through a bright cloud of tears, the years, restoring
With a new verse the ancient rhyme. Redeem
The time. Redeem
The unread vision in the higher dream
While jewelled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse.
The silent sister veiled in white and blue
Between the yews, behind the garden god,
Whose flute is breathless, bent her head and signed but spoke no word
But the fountain sprang up and the bird sang down
Redeem the time, redeem the dream
The token of the word unheard, unspoken
Till the wind shake a thousand whispers from the yew
And after this our exile
V
If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and
Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.
O my people, what have I done unto thee.
Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence
Not on the sea or on the islands, not
On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land,
For those who walk in darkness
Both in the day time and in the night time
The right time and the right place are not here
No place of grace for those who avoid the face
No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice
Will the veiled sister pray for
Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee,
Those who are torn on the horn between season and season, time and time, between
Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait
In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray
For children at the gate
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose
O my people, what have I done unto thee.
Will the veiled sister between the slender
Yew trees pray for those who offend her
And are terrified and cannot surrender
And affirm before the world and deny between the rocks
In the last desert before the last blue rocks
The desert in the garden the garden in the desert
Of drouth, spitting from the mouth the withered apple-seed.
O my people.
VI
Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn
Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings
And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth
This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross
Between blue rocks
But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away
Let the other yew be shaken and reply.
Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated
And let my cry come unto Thee.
24 February 2004
Another of the Times's hired assassins
A. O. Scott says Mel Gibson lacks subtlety. Scott prefers barely-post-adolescent siblings bathing nude together, among other things. (Suffice it to say that the brother and sister in Bernardo Bertolucci's NC-17-rated "The Dreamers" seem to have learned a thing or two from Caligula.)
Which director's "visual technique...gives his frames the poise and vibrancy of paintings by Ingres or Caravaggio"--Mel Gibson or Bernardo Bertolucci? According to Scott, it is dirty old Bertolucci. Only charity prevents me from believing that Scott referred to Ingres and Caravaggio purely to be perverse; if the cinematography of any film can be compared to the work of those masters, it is "The Passion" (which I saw several months ago).
I have neither the time nor the energy to fisk this bilge.
Pilgrimage to "The Passion"
The Rev. Philip Eichner is leading an Ash Wednesday pilgrimage for students from Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, Long Island. Students will receive ashes and then walk en masse to a local theater for a private screening of "The Passion of the Christ." A commendable example.
Abe Foxman has warned local Jews to remain indoors and shutter all windows until Easter. [In fact, he has not. Yet, anyway. --Ed.]
(Via Long Islander Gen X Revert)
The future of marriage
General "Buck" Turgidson: Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn't that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship--I mean, as far as men were concerned?--George C. Scott, Peter Sellers, and Peter Bull; "Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)
Dr. Strangelove: Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious...service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics, which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.
Ambassador de Sadesky: I must confess, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor.
Not in my backyard
If an abuser is at high risk of hurting another child, Dr. Hanson said, "He may be better off in the church, where there are strong supervisory structures, than in somebody else's backyard."Strong supervisory structures? Which church does he have in mind, I wonder? If the Church had strong supervisory structures, it would not be in this mess in the first place--and it need not have hired Dr. Hanson to draft this report. Though I'm guessing that this report is more than superfluous anyway.
--Dr. Karl Hanson, one of eight non-Catholic experts on sex abuse who produced a report on the problem for the Vatican; New York Times, 23 February 2004
I wonder if it strikes anyone else as odd that a team of non-Catholics proposes that men with sexual problems should remain in the Catholic priesthood?
Mark C.N. Sullivan excerpts the New York Sun story on the closure of St. Ann's Armenian Catholic Cathedral. It is a shame; this church has more reverence in one Corinthian capital than entire churches in my neighborhood.
I read Mark Shea's re-post of Deal Hudson's E-Letter and thought that if the Catholics who work for pro-abort candidates are whores, that makes the candidates johns. Incidentally, the Democratic presidential candidates are. This thing practically drew itself:
Too obscure? That's probably for the best.
My readers may have gathered that there hasn't been much for me to do here in the old hyperbaric chamber. Either that, or I am trying very hard to avoid posting again on "The Passion of the Christ."
23 February 2004
One piffling point
A letter by Charles Patterson of New York in the Chicago Tribune, 21 February 2004:
The problem with Mel Gibson's film is not the film itself but the Gospel story on which it is based. By the time the New Testament Gospels were written, Jews and Christians were separate competing groups arguing over whether or not Jesus was the messiah.Most of this is not worth addressing--we've heard it all before, even the ridiculous charge that Christianity was the motivating force behind the Holocaust.
In that atmosphere the Gospel writers gave the Jesus story an anti-Jewish slant by describing him as persecuted at every turn by Jewish religious leaders and by putting the blame for his Crucifixion on the Jews, not on the Romans who ordered his execution.
In the early 1960s, the Catholic Church's Vatican II Council stated that Jews of the past, as well as the Jews of today, bear no responsibility for the death of Jesus. Let's hope this film does not set the clock back and unleash a new wave of anti-Semitism. There's too much of it in the world already. One Holocaust is enough.
I'll just take issue with Mr. Patterson on one point: "One Holocaust is enough"? Strange. Maybe I have a low tolerance for the stuff. I would have said one Holocaust is too many.
21 February 2004
Jennifer Rogers, on her dead husband: "You can stuff him, for all I care. Stuff him and put him in a glass case--only I'd suggest frosted glass."
Sam Marlowe: "What did he do to you? Besides marry you."
--Shirley MacLaine and John Forsythe, "The Trouble with Harry" (1955)
Habsburgs demand return of estates seized by Nazis in 1938
From the Telegraph:
Karl Habsburg and two relatives are demanding that property worth hundreds of millions of pounds, including several castles and about 50,000 acres of woodland, be given back to the family in a claim filed with the Austrian Restitution Fund for the Victims of National Socialism. ...This is welcome news. I wish the family had asked for the return of more of its former possessions, though it is beyond the scope of the Restitution Fund. Besides, it would necessitate redrawing maps here and there, and we must take into account cost of paper, the forests cut down for pulp, and the sanity of the cartographers.
Although the Habsburgs were robustly anti-Hitler, there is disquiet in republican Austria at the idea of the Nazi restitution fund being used to aid the former royal ruling family when many Holocaust victims are still awaiting compensation. Austrian governments have previously said that they oppose paying money from the fund to the Habsburgs.
Yet Herbert Golsong, a Washington-based lawyer representing the family, said: "This was an act of Nazi revenge. It was a personal instruction from Hitler because members of the Habsburg family were employed in anti-Nazi propaganda abroad, especially in the US." The family had also helped Jewish people to flee to America, he said.
By the way, the following, though not news, is worth mentioning:
Mr Habsburg, 42, dropped the aristocratic "von" from his name before becoming an MEP for the conservative Austrian People's Party."Mr Habsburg"--jarring, isn't it? Well, it should be. That's no way to address an erzherzog, though dropping the "von" will only encourage that sort of thing. Schade.
Notes from the Iron Lung
I have been ill and unable to bounce out of the old sickbed for long enough to post in a bit. Quite a few interesting things have happened in the past two days, not limited to Governor Schwarzenegger's stand against the politics of Gomorrah and President Bush's pushing aside the old "Catholics Need Not Apply" sign to allow Bill Pryor onto the Bench.
Instead of commenting late on all that, I'll provide an unrelated anecdote. The other day I was riding in a taxi here in New York and spotted on the corner of Park Avenue and 61st Street a young lady holding what appeared to be a skinned fox. Well, its head and posterior still had fur, but the midsection was shiny and red. The man next to her was holding a placard (something about fur being murder). Since we were stopped at a red light, I leaned my head out the window and got the young lady's attention (she was only a few feet from the car): "Excuse me, Miss? Yes, your shoes. Are they leather?" She began to answer, but the driver (who was speaking rapidly in a language whose alphabet seemed to consist entirely of B,D, L, and U) pulled away.
A shame, really. I could have had as much fun speaking with her as I did with a poor Kucinich supporter who tried to hand me a flier last week. He was wearing a Kucinich T-shirt in the freezing cold, which is what I would expect of someone unfamiliar with the weather patterns of this planet. He was trying to convince me of the merits of Kucinich's proposed "Department of Peace." I offered him the following lines by Hilaire Belloc, memorized for just such occasions:
Pale Ebenezer thought it wrong to fight,He stopped talking with me at that point and went back to shivering and handing out his leaflets.
But Roaring Bill (who killed him) thought it right.
("The Pacifist")
There are endless sources of amusement in this city.
[I do not have a snappy answer for every street-side lunatic. A few weeks ago a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche handing out material on a Manhattan street corner attempted to engage me in conversation about the destabilization of the dollar (or the demise of the dollar system, I think she said). I kept moving, careful not to make eye contact; economics is not my strong suit, and I couldn't imagine that I could get a laugh out of a conversation on the dollar, even if it was with a LaRouchite.]
19 February 2004
The Massachusetts Candidate
A chilling new film by Dick Morris (with apologies to the late John Frankenheimer et al.).
Lieutenant Jim Rassmann is haunted by nightmares about his platoon being captured and brainwashed in Vietnam. The dreams center on John Kerry, the decorated war hero who saved his life--a sleeper agent being controlled by malevolent forces. Behind the action lurks the sinister and domineering Senator Clinton, who stands to gain considerably if the sleeper agent fulfills his mysterious mission, whether he wants to or not... John Kerry is
The Massachusetts Candidate.
Senator Clinton: "Oh, John. What is the matter with you? You look as if your head were going to come to a point in the next thirteen seconds."
Jim Rassmann: "John Kerry is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."
Senator Clinton: "Why don't you pass the time with a game of solitaire?"
Coming soon to a voting booth near you.
[Well, I've broken my promise already. --Ed.]
Men who mean just what they say,
The brave men of the Green Beret.
John Kerry's Anti-War Book Riles Former Green Beret
The book is hard to find these days, apparently. This piece extracts a few gems:
In the book, Kerry states that Vietnamese citizens "didn't even know the difference between communism and democracy" and he instead blamed the United States for causing chaos in Vietnam.You can bet they know the difference now, Senator. Do read on.
By the way, the article links to Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry. Their "Hanoi John" poster gave me a chuckle.
From a friend teaching in a Catholic school
Teacher [exasperated]: "Just what do they teach you in religion class?"
Student [also exasperated]: "That Jesus loves just about everyone."
That reminds me of Ned Flanders, who once remarked on seeing his neighbor survive what he thought was another Deluge sent to cleanse the earth, "Heaven must be easier to get into than Arizona State!"
Bishop McGrath: Whatever "The Passion" message, the Church renounces anti-Semitism
McGrath also seems to renounce the Gospels:
While the primary source material of the film is attributed to the four gospels, these sacred books are not historical accounts of the historical events that they narrate. They are theological reflections upon the events that form the core of Christian faith and belief.Surely there's some history there? These events happened, did they not?
The bishop goes on:
In solidarity with Pope John Paul II, who asked for forgiveness during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 2000, I apologize to all my brothers and sisters of any faith tradition which has felt prejudice. Let us not allow the mutual respect that has developed to be threatened by an unenlightened reflection on an artistic rendering of the events of 2,000 years ago. Remember, it is just a movie.True enough--it is just a movie. But this "apology" is a bit inconsistent. Bishop McGrath cannot apologize for the sins of past Christians unless he believes in collective guilt. But wait--isn't that just the sort of thing that gets us into trouble in the first place? McGrath should realize that the pope's remarks at Yad Vashem did not constitute an apology, but an expression of regret (and some criticized it for stopping short of an apology):
"As bishop of Rome and successor of the Apostle Peter, I assure the Jewish people that the Catholic Church, motivated by the Gospel law of truth and love and by no political considerations, is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution, and displays of antisemitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place," he said. "The Church rejects racism in any form as a denial of the image of the creator inherent in every human being." (Jerusalem Post, 25 March 2000)Bishop McGrath should choose his words a bit more carefully.
18 February 2004
Ad infinitum
I do not know that my cunning plan worked, but I did spot new ads atop this page. One is for the book by the junior senator from New York (whose name I will no longer mention, lest I incur more ads for her); another is for piñatas. Now if only we could combine the two! They would have to be Mexican piñatas, of course.
What about the children?
The last refuge of a scoundrel is not patriotism, but "the children." This is the most recent shift in criticism of "The Passion."
Realism or brutality – has 'Passion' gone too far?
For many parents - even churchgoing parents who don't quibble with Gibson's interpretation of the Gospels - the violence might be too much for their kids.Quite right. Cartoon violence is more harmful, because it appears to be without consequences and does not evoke sympathy in the viewer. Violence in "The Passion of the Christ" does quite the opposite. And cartoon violence--along with a good deal of movie violence--is usually gratuitous, but in this film the violence is integral. The point of the movie just cannot be made without brutality. Those who think otherwise need to reconsider the meaning of the Cross. I was never under the impression that Christ won salvation by being pelted with falafel.
"I don't think my children would get it," said Debbie Sparber, 45, of Manhattan, a Christian whose kids are 12 and 9. "They'd misunderstand what they're seeing."
Richard D'Alessandro, 45, a Manhattan-based actor who has appeared on violent shows like "The Sopranos," said there's no way he'll take his 9-year-old, Giancarlo, to the film.
"Violence is violence, no matter what the subject matter," said D'Alessandro, who is a Catholic. "For whatever religious value this film may have, the violence makes it out of the question." ...
[Dr. Alan Hilfer, a child psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn] said kids that age aren't ready for that kind of graphic violence.
"I have seen some of the clips, and it was pretty gruesome," he said. "This is not cartoon violence." ...
It's a close race, but not for me. However, despite my low poll numbers and the loss of my chief adviser (pictured below), I am still in the race. I don't hope to win, but I hope my continued candidacy will keep my issues alive. (Oh, wait. Perhaps I'm thinking of Dr. Dean.)
17 February 2004
150 Years of McSorley's
Over the years, saloon regulars have included such disparate types as Woody Guthrie, Babe Ruth and Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln supposedly popped in for a glass back in 1860, and even John Lennon was known to toss back a beer or two.One can tread on the sawdust strewn on the floor of this tavern with a reasonable degree of certainty that some of it has been around since the Pierce administration.
Ashcan school artist John Sloan (1871-1951) captured the saloon's atmosphere; though less smoky today, it remains largely unchanged.
McSorley's Bar, 1912
McSorley's Back Room, 1916
I would recommend dropping by this E. 7th Street landmark for its dark ale (though the house light ale is also quite nice, if you like that sort of thing).
Do mitres come in prison-issue orange?
Bishop Thomas O'Brien was convicted of hit-and-run Tuesday for leaving the scene after killing a jaywalking pedestrian with his Buick, a crash that ended his career as head of the Roman Catholic diocese.This man just seemed destined for prison (remember this?). Look on the bright side, Your Excellence: you may get to see a few priests from your old diocese there.
O'Brien is believed to be the first Roman Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be convicted of a felony.
John Kerry, traitor?
From the LA Times today:
On April 22, 1971, the day before he threw away his combat ribbons, Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivering a powerful message that Brinkley says convinced many Americans their country was waging an immoral war.By now everyone has heard of Jim Rassmann. I wish everyone knew Paul Galanti.
Kerry's testimony was the lead news story on all three networks that evening, making him one of the faces Americans attached to the antiwar movement.
Dressed in his combat fatigues and ribbons, he told Congress that U.S. soldiers had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads … randomly shot at civilians … in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan." He later acknowledged that he did not witness the crimes himself but had heard about them from others. ...
Paul Galanti learned of Kerry's speech while held captive inside North Vietnam's infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison. The Navy pilot had been shot down in June 1966 and spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war.
During torture sessions, he said, his captors cited the antiwar speeches as "an example of why we should cross over to [their] side."
"The Viet Cong didn't think they had to win the war on the battlefield," Galanti said, "because thanks to these protesters they were going to win it on the streets of San Francisco and Washington."
He says Kerry broke a covenant among servicemen never to make public criticisms that might jeopardize those still in battle or in the hands of the enemy.
Because he did, Galanti said, "John Kerry was a traitor to the men he served with."
Now retired and living in Richmond, Va., Galanti, 64, refuses to cool his ire toward Kerry.
"I don't plan to set it aside. I don't know anyone who does," he said. "The Vietnam memorial has thousands of additional names due to John Kerry and others like him."
I would not want to be a theorist at all, let alone a 20th century theorist; though I don't know that this accounts for these interesting results.
You are Martin Heidegger! Your reputation is
stained a bit by the fact that you were a
member of the Nazi party, but your
groundbreaking Being and Time is still
read by a whole lot of people. You overuse the
hyphen, and make up a lot of words. You died in
1976.
What 20th Century Theorist are you?
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Via Eve.
Technical difficulties
The machinery here at Otto-da-Fe has eaten a few posts (not to mention a few people operating the printing press). Posting will resume later, when casualties are assessed.
16 February 2004
"Cuban piñatas were not destroyed by blows, much to our chagrin. Instead, they had long ribbons attached to panels at the bottom. Every kid at the party would grab a ribbon and at the count of three, or seven, or ten, all would tug, the bottom of the piñata would rip open, and goodies would rain down upon us.
"The day I found out that Mexicans got to beat the crap out of their piñatas with sticks, I was so jealous. That must be a far superior culture, I thought."
--Carlos Eire, Waiting for Snow in Havana
Wilhelm the Magnificent
For variety's sake, I thought we would have a special guest on the blog today. Valhalla has no more pointed pickelhaube than that of our guest, that all-seeing exile and former mitteleuropäische troublemaker, Wilhelm the Magnificent...
Welcome, O Great Sage. I hold in my hand these envelopes. As even a Democratic candidate for the presidency can plainly see, these envelopes have been hermetically sealed. They have been kept in a bottle of Franz Keller Oberbergener Bassgeige
Weißburgunder since noon yesterday on Paul von Hindenburg's porch. No one knows the contents of these envelopes, but you will ascertain the answers to these questions, having never seen them before. Shall we begin?
Wilhelm: I require absolute silence!
Answer: Senator Hillary Clinton.
Question: What is the most distant known object in the universe?
[OCH: That's a bit cheap.
WTM: So is this gimmick.
OCH: Touché.]
Answer: Three cloned mules
Question: Are there any serious candidates left in the Democratic primaries?
Answer: Gay marriage.
Question: What will John Kerry do to get George Soros' money?
[OCH: George Soros likes gay marriage?
WTM: I'm not sure, though I think Kerry would marry him for his money.
OCH: Oh, I get it.
WTM: Can we get back to the act now? You're breaking my concentration.
OCH: Sure. Sorry.]
Answer: Chappaquiddick.
Question: What's the one lesson Kerry never learned from the Kennedys?
OCH: I think that one was discredited, O Grate Sage. Anyway, on that tasteless note, I'd like to thank our guest, Wilhelm the Magnificent, for filling space here today with his amazing mental abilities.
WTM: A spirited performance, what?
OCH: Quite.
The Art of Hypocrisy
High-ranking Democrats are demanding answers about President Bush's guard record. Suddenly they care about military service. Remember Bill Clinton's draft letter? They don't.
15 February 2004
Washington Post : Kerry Intact Despite Nipping by Edwards
Edwards is in the custody of Animal Control officers, who will destroy him and test him for rabies.
14 February 2004
Astronomers spy 10 billion trillion trillion-carat diamond
That's all very well and good, but the Associated Press reporter writing this story is overexcited:
The hunk of celestial bling is an estimated 2,500 miles across, said Travis Metcalfe, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. [emphasis mine]Writing like that borders on verbal assault. So much for the AP stylebook.
"I think I started to shake. If I had been able to do it, I would have said "qué mierda." I couldn't say that word then, due to my fear of hell, though I use if freely now, and often. This is what happens when you read too much Martin Luther."Professor Eire, a former teacher of mine (and a fine writer--I recommend his books highly, especially his new memoir), does not mean that he has left the Church for Martin Luther. He really means that Luther had a foul mouth. I recall being flabbergasted when I first read Luther's liberal use "Scheiße" in his manuscripts and even a sermon or two. He imagined having a feces-throwing fight with the Devil and breaking wind in the face of the Prince of Lies. One should expect this, though, since he admitted that his most rewarding work was done in the loo.
--Carlos Eire, Waiting for Snow in Havana
Clearly, Luther was the 16th century answer to the Three Stooges (though the juxtaposition would horrify the old anti-Semite).
Not-so-ineluctable electability
Armavirumque contributor Robert Ellison has recorded a delightful song about Candidate Kerry to the tune of the hymn "Nearer, my God, to Thee." It sounds a bit like Alvin and the Chipmunks performing at a temperance rally (one of the few areas where I'd say we've made some progress in history--when was the last time you encountered a temperance rally?).
Incidentally, President William McKinley's doctor reported that his last words were, "Nearer, my God, to Thee, e'en though it be a cross...." Other sources contend that his last words were a response to his wife, who said, "I want to go, too." The dying president reportedly replied, "We are all going." True enough.
[Updated to add: Quite by accident, I came across "Execution of Czolgosz, with panorama of Auburn Prison," an early silent film reenactment of the electrocution of McKinley's assassin. There are many other Edison Motion Pictures to be found at the Library of Congress's site.]
13 February 2004
Ad Nauseam
I have the strangest assortment of ads atop this page; Blogspot will still not allow one to upgrade to ad-free hosting. The ads are tailored, I see, to the content of my page. When I posted about critics of "The Passion," I noted an ad for the Anti-Defamation League. Shortly after I referred to ant warfare in one post, there appeared ads for pest control. Today I noticed an ad for "Original Penguin Clothing" (no, sadly, it's not what you think). I've also seen ads for retired Episcopal bishop and general nuisance John Spong. In the future, perhaps I should throw the Blogspot ad system a curveball by inserting odd words at random. Tapioca. Shrubbery. Svein Forkbeard. Digital Pants. Now we'll see what sort of ads we get. Mauser rifle.
Bishop Murphy Strikes Back
The Times's Bruce Lambert has a fair piece on Bishop Murphy's refutation of Laura Ahearn's assertion that she has found new evidence linking him to Boston cover-ups. It sounds like Ms. Ahearn is confusing Fr. William F. Murphy with Bishop William F. Murphy and rehashing old accusations. I'd like to see her report, which she presented last night at a VOTF meeting in Powerpoint format--the format of choice for people who do not know how to speak in public. But that's beside the point.
12 February 2004
Secretary: "I say, Lawrence, you are a clown!"
T.E. Lawrence: "We can't all be lion tamers."
--Jack Gwillim and Peter O'Toole, "Lawrence of Arabia"
Cleansing of the Basilica
[The Basilica of St. Adalbert] on Grand Rapids' West Side allowed seven Tibetan Buddhist monks into the church Tuesday evening, where about 35 people gathered to see them.Grand Rapids Bishop Kevin Britt said in a statement released to the press,
But a group of about 50 people and their spiritual leader from Allendale said allowing the Basilica to be used by non-Christians amounted to sacrilege. The members of St. Margaret Mary Church [SSPX], which included several children, sat in the front pews beneath the giant crucifix and loudly recited prayers of the Rosary about 8 p.m. ...
The Rev. Thomas DeYoung, pastor at St. Adalbert's, asked the Allendale group to leave several times, but members ignored him and continued their recitation. Grand Rapids police were on the scene but took little action, deciding to let the group disperse peacefully.
The monks and those interested in hearing what they had to say moved to the basement, and once the sanctuary cleared out, the Allendale group got up and filed out.
"In Pope John P II's commitment to peace and justice, the Holy Father has championed ecumenical and interreligious dialogue."That's the spirit of ecumenism for you--invite Buddhists to chant in the sanctuary, but call the police to remove the SSPXers praying the rosary. Granted, schism is no laughing matter--and to boot, the average schismatic has no sense of humor. I don't want to be soft on the worst elements in the SSPX, but if we can invite non-Christians to pray to other gods or non-gods in our churches, would it kill some bishops to allow a few indult Masses here and there? It's not like the faithful will be worshipping the Buddha or anything.
11 February 2004
Christians ought to be able to say this
We are lucky to have Michael Medved, who injected the following bit of sanity into the debate on MSNBC's "Deborah Norville Tonight," 10 February 2004:
"Look, I think it is totally wrong for the Jewish community to set itself up as an arbiter of what Christians can preach and believe.
"There are different interpretations of the New Testament. The Mel Gibson interpretation is by no means outside the mainstream. It is largely faithful to the gospel accounts in the book of Matthew and the book of John, and it seems to me counterproductive, tremendously counterproductive for Jewish organizations to oppose this movie. ...
"But point is, getting people so hysterical about it before it comes out—I am convinced the Jewish opposition to the film is going to produce far more anti-Semitism in terms of a reaction than anything in the movie itself."
Prince John: "Poor John. Who says, 'Poor John'? Don't everybody sob at once! My God, if I went up in flames there's not a living soul who'd pee on me to put the fire out!"
Prince Richard: "Let's strike a flint and see."
--Nigel Terry and Anthony Hopkins, "The Lion in Winter" (1968)
Voice of the Feckless
Bishop Murphy of Rockville Centre has barred the Long Island chapter of Voice of the Faithful from meeting on Church property (and rightly so). I think it very fitting that they often meet in a Unitarian Universalist congregation. When I read where they would hold their meeting on 4 March, I nearly fell out of my seat: a Masonic Hall.
If I wore a foil hat instead of a pickelhaube, I would say that all the pieces were coming together, and that I always suspected the VOTF crowd to be freemasons. But I do not wear a foil hat.
Turbulent Bishopess
Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of Barbara Harris's consecration as the first woman bishop in the Episcopal Church.
This was not only unsound, but also unnecessary. If Trollope's Barchester Towers has taught me anything, it is that a woman in the Anglican Communion could rule as a bishop by marrying one.
Newsday charged with racketeering
For nearly 10 years, Newsday stole from its advertisers by jacking up circulation numbers to increase the rate the paper charged for ads, a shocking federal racketeering lawsuit alleges.It seems the Long Island daily is as honest in its business dealings as it is in its editorializing.
10 February 2004
"By the authority vested in me by Kaiser Wilhelm II, I pronounce you husband and wife. Proceed with the execution."
--Captain of the Louisa (Peter Bull), "The African Queen" (1951)
Three Wise Men May Have Been Neither Wise Nor Men
From Reuters:
The traditional infant Nativity play scene could be in for a drastic rewrite after the Church of England indulged in some academic gender-swapping over the three Magi at its General Synod in London this week.How thorough the Church of England is! With all the major crises facing the C of E, it finds time for the little things. It chisels the faces off statues in the cathedral while a wrecking ball is poised outside.
A committee revising the latest prayer book said the term "Magi" was a transliteration of the name used by officials at the Persian court, and that they could well have been women.
"Magi is a word which discloses nothing about numbers, wisdom or gender embodied in the term," a Synod spokesman said on Tuesday after the revision was agreed by the Church of England's parliament which meets twice a year.
Catholics cautioned about film reaction
From the Chicago Tribune:
Fearful that Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" will revive age-old tension between Christians and Jews over the death of Jesus Christ, U.S. bishops are issuing strict instructions on how Catholics should view the crucifixion.The bishops certainly have moved quickly on this one. Now if they would only act as quickly to counter the examples provided by rogue Catholic politicians. A refutation of President Kennedy's or Governor Cuomo's damaging remarks on religion and public life, for instance, would be quite helpful. The damage that they do is unambiguous--Catholics quote them all the time to justify defiance of Church teachings. On the other hand, it is not at all clear that "The Passion of the Christ" in any way contradicts Church teaching--just ask its supporters in the Vatican (the ones who comment on art of this kind). The bishops would not even have to do any work of their own; they could just see that every diocese promulgates the Vatican's Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life.
A 150-page booklet, "The Bible, the Jews and the Death of Jesus," will be released this week to every diocese in the United States, instructing Catholics on the Vatican's position: that Jews were not collectively responsible for Christ's torture and death.
[Edited to add: Or the bishops could just hand out this Zenit interview with Robert George and Gerard Bradley.]
I admit that this is beyond wishful thinking. This would only occur in an alternate universe.
Priorities
At the Anti-Defamation League's conference last weekend, attendees spent one hour discussing the situation in the Middle East and two hours on Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." When the ADL warns of violence (see below) that may follow this film and devotes more time at its conference on Anti-Semitism to the film than to suicide bombers, one has to wonder who exactly is guilty of blood libel.
"Of great concern to the Anti-Defamation League is the possibility that individuals are more likely to be targets of attack, simply because they are 'different.'"--ADL fundraising pamphlet, as reported by David Klinghoffer in the Seattle Times, 6 February 2004.
"More people will see this film in three months than ever saw the passion plays in Europe through all the centuries. We know those plays rationalized anti-Semitic behavior. We fear this will, too."--Abraham Foxman in the Detroit Free Press, 7 February 2004.
"[Mel Gibson is] hawking ["The Passion"] on a commercial crusade to the churches of this country. That's what makes it dangerous."--Abraham Foxman in the Los Angeles Times, 23 January 2004.
As Al Jolson would say, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
[Update: This nugget was released a few hours after my post. I claim neither causation nor correlation.]
Fr. Villa saves the day
This letter speaks for itself:
It is indeed regrettable that The New York Sun has joined the chorus of "journalistic hit pieces" against Mel Gibson in support of an Anti-Defamation League-orchestrated campaign to smear him and his film "The Passion" ["Gibson Gives Ground," Editorial, February 4, 2004].
You point to the "gumption" of the ADL in standing its ground.
This gumption is a poorly disguised attempt at censorship of the Gospels so that they conform to Abraham Foxman's and the ADL's standards of acceptability. The anti-Semitic smear is simply a ploy to prevent a powerful representation of the Gospels from being seen by as many people as possible.
That Mr. Gibson's representation would not be acceptable to Jews is understandable in that it presents Jesus as the Messiah. To give the impression as the ADL seems to that Jews were marginal players in this drama is ridiculous. Mr. Gibson's film, faithful to the Gospels, portrays Jews both for and against Jesus, which is as it was.This reflects Jewish sources as well.
Having seen the film, if any group is portrayed as brutal and bloodthirsty, it is the Romans, especially the Roman soldiers. The Jewish authorities are portrayed as being motivated by theological concerns regarding blasphemy and the law. That this campaign against Mr. Gibson is not shared by many prominent Jews is also telling.
You have now raised the stakes in the campaign against Mr. Gibson by attempts to vet discussions of the Holocaust. For Mr. Gibson to note in an extended remark that millions of oth ers were exterminated in World War II by Nazis and communists as part of the horror of the carnage of World War II is not to deny the Holocaust, or the uniqueness of the Nazi campaign against the Jewish people.
--Letter by the Rev. Leonard F. Villa, Pastor of St. Eugene's Church, Yonkers, N.Y.; New York Sun, 10 February 2004
09 February 2004
Dr. McKenna: "If you ever get hungry, our garden back home is full of snails. We tried everything to get rid of them. We never thought of a Frenchman!"
--Jimmy Stewart, "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956)
A Unitarian Doxology
Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune (the link seems to have expired):
"All praise 'To Whom it May Concern'
No creed or -ism do we spurn.
Raise up your voice, for God is love,
Or all . . . or none . . . of the above."
Overheard at the Breakers
The Palm Beach Post covered the ADL's conference at the Breakers, Palm Beach. Note the following, from a member of the Ad Hoc Committee hounding Mel Gibson:
The Rev. John Pawlikowski, a Catholic scholar, told the audience that Gibson's ties to neo-conservative Catholics have influenced the actor's version of biblical events.I suggest a rule of thumb: whenever someone on the left uses the word "neo-conservative," ignore what follows. In 99% of cases, the use of the term is a sign of idiocy.
08 February 2004
Macaulay Connor: "This is the Bridal Suite. Send us up some caviar sandwiches and a bottle of beer."
Margaret Lord: "Who is this?"
Macaulay Connor: "This is the Voice of Doom calling. Your days are numbered--to the seventh son of the seventh son."
Margaret Lord: "One of the servants must have been in the sherry again."
--Jimmy Stewart and Mary Nash, "The Philadelphia Story"
Which Brideshead Revisited character are you?
I have been compared to many Brideshead characters, but never this one. Maybe Elinor knows best, but I deny any rumors to the effect that I've taken a mistress in Venice.
You are Lord Marchmain. You're a bon vivantI think I'll go take my pills about now, since I am, as Marchmain would say, quite bowled over.
and an elegant fatalist, but it's all a pose.
What Brideshead Revisited character are you?
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100 Men in NYC Seek Right to Wear Skirts
"The male bird is always the pretty one, not the female," another participant, 27-year-old Chris Taylor, told the Times. "Why can't the male human being dress with style and color?"The next battle in the Civil Rights Movement, I'm sure.
In the mail...
A few readers have commented on my post on the Colonel Kurtz Award below--far more favorably than I would have imagined (I must be doing something wrong).
One or two have raised questions about whether removing nutrition is allowable. First, I should have said that I have some experience with degenerative disease in my family (too much, really); this doesn't make me an expert, but it at least makes me something other than a disinterested armchair commentator. I know that at some point those with diseases like Parkinson's cannot eat on their own. Whatever the condition, I never saw providing nutrition, even via a tube, as invasive--the term used both by Polly Rothstein and by Michael Schiavo.
Even if there is no chance of recovery (unlike Terri Schiavo's case), bare nutrition seemed uncontroversial, and not at all an extraordinary measure. Although I can't comment on individual cases, I have always been under the impression that withdrawing or withholding artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) with the intent of ending a patient's life to be gravely immoral, as the lingo goes. We have stuck with the ANH in my family, and we thought it wrong to do otherwise. There is an exception, as Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae:
"In such situations, when death is clearly imminent and inevitable, one can in conscience 'refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted.'"I think it is unclear whether nutrition falls under "forms of treatment" or "normal care due to the sick person," but my instincts and common sense would point to the latter. Even if this is not the case, nutrition can only be removed when death is "imminent and inevitable." I suppose a good deal will depend on what one defines as "imminent." [Deleted tasteless joke about George Tenet and "imminent danger" of death here. That's stream-of-consciousness commentary for you. --Ed.]
I am not arguing that life should be preserved at all costs, as one reader thought. But depriving a patient of food can constitute euthanasia: "an action or an omission which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may in this way be eliminated" (see the CDF's Declaration on Euthanasia).
Another reader wonders whether relating this subject to abortion is a stretch. It's not at all so; in both cases a human being is dependent upon others for nutrition. Both are burdens on others who restrict the lifestyles of those faced with caring for them. Both present a tug-of-war between values with a human life stretched between them.
Both cases show that adding qualifiers to the value of life can have unpleasant consequences. While the ill person's dependency is ended at death, the child's is really only beginning at birth. Nutrition is not all one will have to provide for a child, and one is guaranteed to be stuck with the little blessing for eighteen or so years (at least). Thinking purely in terms of inconvenience to others, it makes more sense to kill the child than it does the Alzheimer's patient. And taking into account the suffering of the ill person isn't enough to justify refusing to feed him. That kind of reasoning leads to children exposed on windswept crags.
So, are they related? Short answer: Sure. The culture of death--it's a rich tapestry.
07 February 2004
Dukakis Redux (via Botox?)
Mike Littwin of the Rocky Mountain News writes,
"If Kerry wins the nomination - and it's still possible to draw an Edwards scenario - we know what comes next, because it has already started. Republicans will try to Dukakisize him. No one can forget how Dukakis was marginalized as a Massachussets [sic] liberal. And Kerry was, after all, Dukakis' lieutenant governor."Perhaps I am guilty, but Kerry hardly needs help in this regard. And I predict that as Senator Kerry increases his dependence on Botox, its poisonous effects will begin to show:
____________
While I'm at it--Littwin also writes,
"They've already said Kerry is out of the touch with the American people, although Kerry - according to Harvard professor David King - voted with the majority of his party 100 percent of the time in the first session of the present Congress. Meaning he's out of touch with American Republicans, anyway."Pardon me if I choke on my lime rickey while reading that less-than-reassuring defense. Kerry always votes the party line--a model of bravery and individualism! That's the war hero we all admire.
And his lock-step conformity to Democratic Party planks hardly exculpates him from the charge that he is out of touch with the American people; few--except the out of touch themselves--would argue that the national Democratic line (Abort the Americans! Spare the terrorists! Repeal the tax cuts!) is one most Americans naturally accept.
06 February 2004
I note with some surprise that someone has nominated me for a St. Blog's Award in the category of Most Humorous Blog. It warms my heart. (Oh, wait. I just left it out on the stove.)
Whoever nominated me must have done so before I started beating up on widows. (Tune in next week for details on my orphan-tossing contest. )
Edited to add: I have my doubts about a blog contest that neglects Eve Tushnet. And what about Dale Price?
Stella: Let's go down and find out what's buried in the garden.
Lisa Carol Fremont: Why not? I've always wanted to meet Mrs. Thorwald.
—Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter, "Rear Window"
The Colonel Kurtz Award
While doing some tedious research, I stumbled onto a newsletter of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion. It is not recent (Spring 2003), though it is related [somewhat, dear reader; cut me some slack. --Ed.] to Ronald Reagan, who celebrates his birthday today. I could not resist commenting on the following blood-chilling entry by Polly Rothstein, President Emerita of the group:
On my mind even more than the Bush horribles, is the dignified death in January of Jesse, my husband of 44 years.[If not for this tasteless column, I would never venture to issue commentary on a family's misfortune; though that hardly make this post less indelicate. --Ed.] There is more to the article, but I will confine myself to one point. Having a living will that rules out extraordinary measures is one thing; denying food and water to someone seems rather beyond the pale. Of course, the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case provides an example of simple nutrition being called "invasive." And now that we are acquainted with the facts of that case (thanks in part to people like Fr. Rob Johansen), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I have no doubt that Terri's case will be one of the most important (symbolically and otherwise) right-to-life cases we've ever seen. But the case of Jesse Rothstein, though related, is disquieting in a different way.
After he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years ago, we convened a family conference. Our children, Amy and Chester, asked him to say in words what was written in his living will. He clearly expressed that he wished us not to do anything to prolong his life in the face of physical and mental deterioration.
We carried out his wishes. We are comforted by knowing we had done the right thing for him and for us. He did not wish to live for what could have been many years with Alzheimer's. In the weeks prior to his death, he said repeatedly that he wished to die; he was ready and wasn't afraid. ...
As time passed, he ate little and soon stopped altogether. As he wished, we didn't take invasive measures to provide nutrition or hydration. We cared for him ourselves, with him all day every day.
Fortunately, my sister Judy, a nurse practitioner, was here for the final days.
Jesse's life ended with his loving family around his bed, Amy and Chester's hands on his chest. It was, as we concluded later, an up time for us. We had fulfilled his wishes for death
with dignity.
In the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, her husband seems to be a bad egg all around who may be responsible for his wife's condition; he also stands to gain financially from her death. And he doesn't have to see her die--that bit of unpleasantness can happen in a clinical setting far from his view and conscience. He is a monster and a coward.
Polly Rothstein, on the other hand, seems to have had a fine relationship with her husband, Jesse; Mr. Polly Rothstein (as he was jokingly called, a reference to his wife's relative fame) often appeared at his wife's side at pro-abortion events, and he subsidized her organization for three decades. Their close relationship no doubt made his death more difficult for his wife, under whose roof and gaze he died. His condition left him cogent at times, as Mrs. Rothstein writes in her article. So not only did his wife watch him die of starvation or thirst; presumably he was aware of it, could comment on it, and chose to go on dying that way. (One does wonder, though, how much one's will to die with dignity can survive the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease and desperate hunger or thirst.)
It must have taken extraordinary determination to watch one's husband of over four decades die so slowly, knowing that a bit of food and water was all he needed to live. Though we expect a committed pro-abortion type to have a healthy callousness with regard to death, this is too much. A monster she may be, but not a coward.
Mrs. Rothstein used her husband's death as fodder for her abortionista newsletter. The use of the man's death to make a sugar-coated cyanide pill of a political point about dying with dignity makes a horrifying event even more sinister. Of course Mrs. Rothstein could bear her husband's death. It was demanded by the seamless shroud of death her philosophy represents. It was a martyrdom for her cause.
Such icy determination and devotion to a cause chilled me to my cast-iron bones. [Franco-Prussian War injury. Long Story.] I could not help remembering that a fictional Green Beret in the swamps of Cambodia dreamed of such a fighting force: "If I had ten divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly..."
Polly Rothstein was an obvious choice for the first Colonel Kurtz Award.
Colonel Kurtz?
Colonel Walter E. Kurtz is a character in the movie "Apocalypse Now." A renegade Green Beret whose irregular involvement in the Vietnam War provokes the U.S. Army to target him for assassination, Col. Kurtz's own words explain the values this eponymous award honors better than I could:
"I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with Special Forces. Seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate the children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for Polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember... I... I... I cried. I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out, I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God... the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we. Because they could stand that these were not monsters. These were men... trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us. "
______________
I put a veneer of timeliness on this post by mentioning that I composed it on the birthday of Ronald Reagan, who has Alzheimer's, and chooses not to die with dignity but to live with dignity.
Jesse Rothstein, on the other hand, did not want to "prolong his life in the face of physical and mental deterioration." He didn't die with dignity. He died of dignity. A concern for dignity carried too far becomes pride; and Rothstein chose to end his life because he was too proud to be seen as a doddering, infirm old man. "Death with dignity" is a phrase brimming with contempt for the ill.
Even if his Alzheimer's Disease robs Ronal Reagan of his dignity (I hesitate to say that it can), I would hope that there is still reason to live.
"Passion": The Fine Print
My friend Elinor comments on Mel Gibson,
"What these star-struck types don't so commonly acknowledge is that He's a schismatic! One serious Catholic after another has succumbed to shivery gratification because Somebody Totally Cool is willing to admit to being a Catholic. And what makes the joke on them particularly bitter is that he isn't a Catholic at all. Catholics belong to churches which are subject to the authority of Rome, not to half-baked fly-by-night outfits which dress up in Catholic vestments and perform Catholic rituals, but whose emblem and rule of existence is Non Serviam.While I agree with her about Mel's schismatic position (as I mentioned here) and some of his fawning supporters, that does not detract from the brilliance of the film he has put together. If Pier Pasolini--a homosexual communist--could produce a fine film endorsed by the Vatican and chosen by the Pope as his second favorite film, I wouldn't hasten to discount Gibson because of his schismatic position. I listen to Bach (and even his Mass in B Minor), though he was a devout Lutheran. Heck, I've even seen movies distributed by Harvey Weinstein's Miramax . [I can hear my more delicate readers gasping and clutching their chests.]
"Cut it out. It's childish. It's degrading. Stick up for the unity of the Church and the Primacy of Peter, and don't give this phony either ticket price or legitimacy."
I don't defend Gibson's ideas about the Church; and I, too, find many Catholics' softball questions and kid glove treatment of the man to be dishonest.
I will defend his film, the attacks against which have a strongly anti-Christian (not just anti-sedevacantist) bent. The claim (sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit) is that the average Christian cannot be trusted to view a dramatization of his own sacred texts; and that members of another religion (or of no religion) have the right to edit them selectively in the name of sensitivity. Will making such a hullabaloo over this film generate money for Gibson the schismatic? Surely. But the principle is still worth defending. This is not just an attack on Gibson; it is an attack on anyone who likes his Gospel undiluted.
Speaking of liking one's Gospel undiluted, the claim that the film will bring people back to the Church is unsettling. The Body of Christ isn't good enough for these people--they need a movie to bring them into the Church? If the film does bring people back to the Church, well, I don't think we should turn them away. But it is disheartening that special effects are more powerful than the Eucharist.
05 February 2004
The Real Kerry
Howie Carr of the Boston Herald throws a suckerpunch in the millionaire populist's direction:
"One of the surest ways to get the phones ringing on any Massachusetts talk-radio show is to ask people to call in and tell their John Kerry stories. The phone lines are soon filled, and most of the stories have a common theme: our junior senator pulling rank on one of his constituents, breaking in line, demanding to pay less (or nothing) or ducking out before the bill arrives.Do read the rest. There are a few other choice barbs, like this one:
"The tales often have one other common thread. Most end with Sen. Kerry inquiring of the lesser mortal: 'Do you know who I am?'"
"'His initials are JFK,' longtime state Senate President William M. Bulger used to muse on St. Patrick's Day, 'Just for Kerry. He's only Irish every sixth year.' And now it turns out that he's not Irish at all."I can barely refrain from exclaiming, "Zing!"
Regina Lampert: I already know an awful lot of people, and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else.
Peter Joshua: Well, if anyone goes on the critical list, let me know.
—Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, "Charade" (1963)
[I thought I could get away with disrupting my stream of Alfred Hitchcock quotes with one from "the best movie Hitchcock never made." --Ed.]
Inside the Vatican names Mel Gibson "Man of the Year"
I read about this in veteran Variety columnist Army Archerd's column today (which I cannot find online). It is an astounding development: Mel Gibson has media columnists reading publications from or about the Vatican--maybe something will sink in.
As for the "Inside the Vatican" list, I have some reservations. I like Mr. Gibson's movie and will defend it against what amounts essentially to revisionism and censorship; but there is a limit to the praise we can pour on the man, especially in matters Catholic. Should "Inside the Vatican" really name a sedevacantist "Man of the Year"? (And if he is not a sedevacantist, he has the obligation to lessen the scandal surrounding him by correcting the error publicly.) Luckily, this list seems mostly irrelevant. There are a few figures on the list--however admirable--whose impact on the year 2003 I failed to discern. An explanation would have been nice; I will charitably assume that the print edition included one.
Sister knows best
Lynda Shadrake plays a sister in the interactive comedy "Late Nite Catechism," in which audience members lob questions at Sister, who improvises a humorous (one would hope) answer. When confronted with a question about Jesus and Mary Magdalene's relationship as described in The Da Vinci Code, Shadrake had a refreshing response.
So, Shadrake, as Sister, did what any 1950s-era nun would have done in such a case:Responses from other quarters may be found in this article (free subscription required), though Sister's is the most concise.
"I'd say, `Mister, when you went to the library or the bookstore for that book, what section did you find it in?' "And he'd sheepishly say, `Fiction.'
"And I'd go to the blackboard and write, `F-I-C-T-I-O-N.'"
That's still Shadrake's response - she has since read the book - and it's the response that the other actresses have adopted as well. It's simple. It's clean. And it certainly fits the character.
I was happy to see the comments by Professor Jack Wasserman, an art history scholar and a delightful gentleman. I had the pleasure of sitting beside him at a discussion of the Code a few months ago, and his crotchety comments made the event bearable and even worthwhile. [Those who haven't anything nice to say inevitably sit next to me. I call it the Statler and Waldorf Effect. --Ed.]
04 February 2004
"If I were to make another picture set in Australia, I'd have a policeman hop into the pocket of a kangaroo and yell, Follow that car!"
--Alfred Hitchcock
Knowing that someone else thought of this first renders me nearly inconsolable.
Shoah Brouhaha
Peggy Noonan interviewed Mel Gibson for an upcoming issue of Reader's Digest. When asked whether he thought the Holocaust occurred, he said the following:
"Yes, of course. Atrocities happened. War is horrible. The Second World War killed tens of millions of people. Some of them were Jews in concentration camps. Many people lost their lives. In the Ukraine, several million starved to death between 1932 and 1933. During the last century, 20 million people died in the Soviet Union."In the LA Times, Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, responds:
"[R]eading this, I have to conclude that, at best, Mr. Gibson is ignorant and, at worse, he is insensitive. War was not the cause of the Holocaust; Jews died because of who they were. The Holocaust is different in kind from other historical tragedies because it's about people being slaughtered for who they were. Comparing it to the famine in the Ukraine, which was terrible, is nonetheless ignorant and insensitive."Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center adds the following:
"Given the controversy stirred by your forthcoming film, I had hoped that your remarks on the Holocaust during your interview with Peggy Noonan for Reader's Digest would be an opportunity to take us in an entirely new direction. Sadly, according to the excerpt I read, I was mistaken. Rather than showing understanding for what historians regard as the most telling example of man's inhumanity to man in the history of civilization, you diminish the uniqueness of the Holocaust by marginalizing it and placing it alongside the horrors and suffering of people caught up in conflict and famine."Accepting that the Holocaust occurred is one thing. It is a fact. Foxman and Hier, however, are brandishing their thought police badges. They are saying that it is not enough to say that the Shoah occurred; one must in addition adopt one particular historical interpretation of it. And one may never mention it in the same breath as any other atrocity.
Whether or not any analogy drawn between the Holocaust and other historical events is debatable. But Foxman and Hier would rather shut down debate. It is admirable to fight against revisionism, of course; ironically, though, Foxman and Hier are the same people who would like to ensure that "The Passion of the Christ" does not imply that any Jews had anything to do with the Crucifixion, ever.
That aside, would it kill Mr. Foxman and Rabbi Hier to be gracious every now and then? Gibson has thrown them more bones than they deserve.
03 February 2004
Alicia Huberman: "Well, did you hear that? I'm practically on the wagon; that's quite a change."
T.R. Devlin: "It's a phase."
Alicia: "You don't think a woman can change?"
Devlin: "Sure, change is fun, for awhile."
—Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, Notorious (1946)
Making positive energy flow mandatory
(That would spell trouble for this dusty corner of the blogosphere.) A California bill seeks Feng Shui-compliant buildings; the sponsor must be a Kucinich supporter.
"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California lawmaker thinks buildings in the state should be more light and airy to allow for positive energy flow -- and maybe have more mirrors.I wonder if Americans United for the Separation of Church and State will lodge a protest.
"San Francisco Democrat Leland Yee, assistant speaker pro tempore of the State Assembly, said on Friday that he has introduced a resolution urging the state architect and California cities to adopt design standards that allow for the use of feng shui principles.
"Feng shui, which translates as 'Wind' and 'Water,' is the Chinese art of geomancy and dates back at least 4,000 years."
Group Meditation and Visualization for Kucinich
"To All Kucinich Supporters: New York City Friends of Kucinich will be holding a group meditation and visualization for the Dennis Kucinich campaign. This will occur at 8:15pm on Wednesday, January 28th.It confirms many of my suspicions about Kucinich supporters (pictured below). Now if I could only prove that I saw their mothership at Devil's Island National Monument in Wyoming one night.
"The intention of the meditation will be to create the energy pathways needed to give the Kucinich vision and everyone who aligns with that vision a voice in America and the World and to attract the prosperity and resources to do so." (Read the rest, courtesy of Rod Dreher.)
02 February 2004
Detective Milton Arbogast: "We're always quickest to doubt people who have a reputation for being honest."
—Martin Balsam, Psycho (1960)
More on The Passion of the Christ, from CBS News
While editing this post, I decided that I wouldn't bother at all with the transcript of the actual commentary on Mel Gibson's film. The lead-up should tell you everything you need to know about the intellectual quality of "The Early Show":
CBS News TranscriptsHeady stuff, that.
"The Early Show" (7:00 AM ET)
28 January 2004
Hannah Storm, Co-host: "A lot of controversy coming up about a movie that is going to be released on Ash Wednesday, and that's Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' that's been criticized by many for being anti-Semitic. We are going to get reaction. We are going to have a debate between two men who are among the few who have actually seen that movie. We're going to be talking with a prominent rabbi and also a noted evangelical Christian. So it should be a very interesting discussion."
Julie Chen, Co-host: "Also coming up, we've all taken photographs where the people in the picture have red eyes, right?"
Storm: "Right."
Chen: "Well, this morning we're going to tell you how that common occurrence can actually help you detect a rare but deadly form of cancer in kids."
Rene Syler, Co-host: "Oh, yes. Huh."
Bar Signs (not just for the deaf)
From Modern Drunkard Magazine, via the Rat, who attempted to teach me a few of these signs over the weekend.
On this date
...in 962, Pope John XII crowned Otto I Holy Roman emperor. I think I'll celebrate by invading Italy.
Incidentally, Otto had no excuse for his misbehavior, having the saintly examples of St. Matilda , his mother; and St. Bruno (the Great), his brother.
Policing the schools, literally
"Phase 2 of Mayor Bloomberg's school safety crackdown begins this week with SWAT teams of 150 cops swooping down on the city's 12 most dangerous schools.Say what you will about ruler-wielding nuns in Catholic Schools. It meant never having to call in SWAT teams.
"These NYPD 'task force' members also will put heat on truants found roaming around the schools and the streets."
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