Reihan Salam, of the Atlantic and the American Scene, had a short piece at the Daily Beast on conspiracy theories in American politics and focused especially on the relatively wide-spread belief that President Obama is a closet Muslim.  This paragraph, unfortunately, got cut from the article:

So despite the fact that Obama has been a church-going Christian for most of his adult life, more than a tenth of the country believes that while roaming the streets of Jakarta as an elementary schooler, Obama met some wily bearded imam who lured him into his roving Muslim-mobile with delicious minaret-shaped candies and converted him to radical Islam. Dazzled by his obvious intelligence, and convinced long before David Axelrod that Americans were itching to elect a half-Kenyan youth as president, he also sold young Obama on the idea of keeping his Islamic zealotry under wraps. That way he could transform America into a radical Islamic caliphate without anyone ever noticing.

I don’t have particularly strong feelings on President Obama’s religious beliefs (or lack thereof), other than I have no reason not to take him at his word that he’s an adherent of some bland, liberal form of Protestantism.  I am, however, highly intrigued by the concept of “minaret-shaped candies.”  Too funny.

Hat tip: Daniel Larison.

Usually, when you sell your soul, you at least get the 30 pieces of silver.

The word on the grapevine around here is that Notre Dame has lost at least $8 million dollars in donations revoked or demanded to be returned so far.

Don’t worry, donors, there are plenty of faithful colleges out there getting by with much less than big ND and their giant TV sports contracts.  My own Houston Baptist University would be a good place to start . . .

We don’t have any problem standing up for life.

According to the New York Times, officials in the Obama Administration are concerned about the impact of a shortage of doctors may have on the President’s health care plans.  For any of those officials who may stop by our cyber front porch, let me let you in on another “secret” so you don’t have to discover it later on after you have wrecked the health care system by imposing nationalized health care.  If you nationalize health care (and I don’t care what you call it – “universal coverage” means nationalized health care), the problem of a shortage of physicians is only going to get worse,  much worse.

(more…)

Once upon a time, in 2004, the Great State of Pennsylvania was represented in the United States Senate by two Republican: Pro-choice liberal Arlen Specter, who had led the fight for the confirmation of Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court but had also voted to acquit Bill Clinton at his impeachment trial, and pro-life lion Rick Santorum, who had gained recognition as the Senate’s foremost defender of unborn human life. (more…)

Now that it’s clear that laurels will be offered to the President regardless of the protests from the wider Church, there is still one way for UND to salvage something positive out of the controversy.

That way would be for Fr. Jenkins himself to give the speech defending Catholic life principles and respectfully criticizing the President’s words, executive actions and overall record. 

One of the greatest sins of Jenkins and the administration is that they have acted like Notre Dame is just a rental hall, providing a location (along with matchless catering and open bar at affordable prices!) for the President, but not really being otherwise involved.

For equal time, they invite outsiders (Glendon) to do the “dirty work” of really (as opposed to pro forma) standing up to the President.

This is where he, and they, have failed, conveying and strengthening the distinct impression that it’s not really ND’s place to stand up for the truth, no matter how uncomfortable that might make everyone.

“Naw–let’s fling the Laetare at Glendon and let the lady mercenary do our fighting for us.  And the good news is that she leaves afterwards.  Win-win!”

Now they are scrambling for a Plan B. 

How’s that Rent-a-Pro-Lifer strategy working for you now?

This is unacceptable.  Instead of standard form talking points briefly ”disagreeing,” it’s time for Fr. Jenkins to step up to the plate and do ND’s job.   Charitably, but unequivocally, calling the President to account for his failings on life issues and witnessing to the Church’s position on these central questions.  The honor of the university, and the greater good of  the Church in America, require no less.

Do I think it likely?  No.  But it would go a long way toward ending the controversy and repairing the breach.

For the Southern Appeal readers in Houston, the time has come to issue judgment on the first hundred days of the Obama administration.  Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, and Mike Gallagher are coming to the Dunham Theater of the Morris Cultural Arts Center at Houston Baptist University tomorrow night (Wednesday) to offer their critique of the president’s program so far.

The event is sponsored by the local conservative talker, KNTH 1070 AM and has provoked a lot of interest around the city.  We expect over 1000 Houstonians to attend, but there just might be a ticket or two left.  Here’s the link for the event.

And before the political balance police get up in arms, I would like to add the footnote that HBU is merely providing the forum to the radio station.  We did the same for the Holocaust Museum by hosting Madeline Albright several months ago.

…they sure do think outside of the box to address a crisis.

[Yes, it's a joke--and a good one.  Thanks to commenter South Bender for the find.]

First Things ends its silence on the Torture Memos with a great essay by Russell Saltzman. This excerpt, with my emphasis, really struck me:

However it was initiated—all the lawyerly vetting that went on, and all the jabber about military necessity and keeping America safe—Khalid’s torture ended up being nothing more than torture, and only that. Somewhere well before the one-hundred eighty-third trip to the waterboard, torture was no longer merely an unproductive means of coaxing information from a suspect.  It became an impersonal bureaucratized process that swiped his individuality. It was a form of mental murder.

Along with an account of Khalid’s crimes also must come an account of his humanity. Personhood carries an elementary dignity, even when the person carrying it is one of our cruelest enemies.

According to the Notre Dame web site:

The following statement from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, is in response to the decision by Mary Ann Glendon to decline acceptance of the University’s Laetare Medal:

“We are, of course, disappointed that Professor Glendon has made this decision. It is our intention to award the Laetare Medal to another deserving recipient, and we will make that announcement as soon as possible.”

I am no expert in public relations, but regifting a prestigious medal should not even have been on the table. It runs the risk of adding injury to insult. For whoever is the runner-up recipient of the 2009 Laetare Medal will now undergo a level of scrutiny that would have not occurred if he or she were the first choice under different circumstances. Very, very strange.

(cross-posted on What’s Wrong With The World)

Update (Feddie): Donald at American Catholic has a good guess as to who might be (read: is) tacky enough to accept a regifted medal.

So much for a new era of bi-partisanship: if you want to know how scared President Obama is of the Mexican Swine Flu, the Democrats this morning are cranking out the talking point that Republicans stripped pandemic preparedness funding from the stimulus bill. Sorry, you jack-asses, but Democrats run Congress and a Democrat has the White House, so the responsibility falls squarely on Democrat shoulders. Sure, the media doesn’t want to admit that it was the Bush White House that built up a stockpile of anti-viral medications and put together the current pandemic plans. So I’m sure when this thing gets out of control b/c of poor decision making by Obama (see mistake one: not testing people at the border, just “trusting” they tell the truth about symptoms. What does the fictional Dr. House say, “everyone lies”?), they’ll blame the plans laid down by the previous administration. These guys are seriously clowns and now they’re seriously messing partisanly with a true national security issue….)

Wow! Stunning and courageous decision on the part of Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon to turn down an award she rightly deserves from that university at South Bend for their honoring of President Obama at Graduation. Read her letter to ND President, Father Jenkins.

So here it is: the first big test of President Obama’s young administration. From all the indications we are getting from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control, this Swine Mexican Flu is something to be worried about, even if the end result is all of us getting mildly sick. Still, the reaction perplexes me. If this is SUCH a serious “public health emergency” why is it that Janet Napoletano has decided NOT to test passengers and travelers from Mexico? My home country of Chile which has had ZERO cases of the Mexican Flu so far is digitally scanning the body temperatures of ALL people coming from Mexico. If this a genuine health emergency, shouldn’t we do the same? Also, why is the media insisting on calling this the “Swine Flu” and not the “Mexican Flu”? Isn’t it appropriate to name the disease from its point of origin? I have NO DOUBT that if this flu started somewhere in the southern US, we’d be calling it the “Arkansas/Texas/Oklahoma/Arizona” Flu.

Also, what do people think out there: is this REALLY serious?

If you haven’t heard the story of Michael Oher (recently graduated LT for Ole Miss) ESPN has a video about him.

He is expected to be picked in the first round of the NFL Draft today.

Hotty Toddy!

I’ve recently observed a curious, but pleasing, dynamic among my friends of the Reformed Protestant persuasion. While, on the one hand, they rarely miss an opportunity to point out the Catholic Church’s perceived missteps—for example, Pope Benedict’s 2007 statement that Protestant churches are better termed ecclesial communities—on the other hand, some of them seem to harbor a genuine desire to see the Church do well. They are reluctant fans, rooting for the Catholic Church.  (more…)

An undergrad at Brown, Kevin Roose, signed a book deal to do a visiting “uncover” semester at Liberty University and to his shock, UTTER AMAZEMENT, he discovered that the children of Falwell are actually, gulp, NORMAL. But here’s the surprising thing (at the end of the block quote): Mr. Roose felt “guilt” over what he did and got forgiveness from his fellow Liberty students for what he did. That’s interesting: most scientists who study distant and primitive cultures rarely feel guilt over what they’re doing. Why would Roose feel guilt? (more…)

The ever-irascible John Derbyshire over at NRO had a comment in The Corner that rather surprised me.  Rather than take teens the great books route, he argues that we should give them a sampling in textbooks and readers, but largely concentrate on keeping them ‘engaged.’

Reading for duty is a miserable business, from which little is gained. It’s much better, certainly for teens, to read second-rate stuff that engages one’s attention, than classics that leave you cold. In my own teens I read almost nothing but science fiction. (My son, though not much of a reader, seems inclined the same way.)

I agree that being dragged through Moby Dick (or the SparkNotes for the same) in a standard high school class is painful and counterproductive.  But the reason I disagree with the Derb is that he’s leaving something out of the equation, namely the teacher.  The main purpose of a classroom is to give students the chance to encounter not just texts, but another mind in relation to those texts.  Samuel Johnson, it is safe to say, would bore the mess out of your average American teenager, but if you happened to have John Derbyshire nearby and the students could spend two weeks with Johnson-Derbyshire, they would never see life-language-literature quite the same way again.  (more…)

More from Notre Dame …

A statement by Bishop D’Arcy, Bishop of the Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese, in the middle of which is, wait for it, Notre Dame itself.

I consider it now settled — that the USCCB document, “Catholics in Public Life,” does indeed apply in this matter.
The failure to consult the local bishop who, whatever his unworthiness, is the teacher and lawgiver in the diocese, is a serious mistake. Proper consultation could have prevented an action, which has caused such painful division between Notre Dame and many bishops — and a large number of the faithful.

Also, there are some interesting tidbits over at The Irish Rover’s website, the independent Catholic paper forever entrenched in warfare with the daily student paper, The Observer.  In particular, there’s an article about the student response coalition and Jenkins, which is always a good read.

Everybody knows that.

As I noted elsewhere, Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn was scheduled to speak this evening at the University of Notre Dame. I just returned from the talk. It was outstanding and powerful. Mr. McGurn, who I had the privilege to speak with after his lecture, offered a principled defense of his point of view while being charitable to those with whom he disagrees.

The Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture has published the text of the talk online, which you can find here. The following are some excerpts:

The precipitate cause of our gathering tonight is the honor and platform our university has extended to a President whose policies reflect clear convictions about unborn life, and about the value the law ought to place on protecting that life. These convictions are not in doubt. In July 2007, the candidate spelled them out in a forceful address to a Planned Parenthood convention in our nation’s capital.

Before that audience, he declared that a woman’s “fundamental right” to an abortion was at stake in the coming election. He spoke about how he had “put Roe at the center” of his “lesson plan on reproductive freedom” when he was a professor – and how he would put it at the center of his agenda as president.

He invoked his record in the Illinois state senate, where he fought restrictions on abortion, famously including one on partial-birth abortion. He said that the “first thing” he wanted to do as President was to “sign a Freedom of Choice Act.” And he ended by assuring his audience that “on this fundamental issue,” he, like they, would never yield….
(more…)

…at a ratio of 62 abortions for every adoption referral, according to the North Carolina Family Policy Council.

If you’re looking for a good balance between a layman and lawyer’s understanding of the Iowa Same Sex Marriage Case, Varnum v. O’Brien, you can’t get a better summary than Helen Alvare’s take on it.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Randy Barnett’s case for an amendment reaffirming Federalism in our constitutional structure. Among the highlights: a repeal of the 16th Amendment and an affirmation of the limitations of power on the Federal government.

Yesterday marked the anniversary of Fr. Abram J. Ryan’s death.  Like Fr. James Sheeran, Fr. Ryan served as a chaplain for the Confederate Army and has the looks of man not to be taken lightly (see picture below).  After the war, Fr. Ryan wrote several poems in tribute to the Confederacy and her fallen sons.  McNamara’s Blog has all the details, including his famous poem “The Sword of Robert Lee.”

A commenter at McNamara’s Blog shares this local legend about Fr. Ryan:

There is a story about him in Nashville, that a Yankee general complained to Fr Ryan that he had heard that Fr Ryan refused to bury the Yankee dead.  Fr Ryan replied, “On the contrary, I’d like to bury them all.”

Exquisite.

This lecture is sponsored by the academic unit at Notre Dame in which I hold my visiting appointment, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture. If you are interested in attending, here are the vitals:

Thursday, April 23 – “A Notre Dame Witness for Life”

William McGurn, Notre Dame alumnus (Class of 1980) and former chief speech writer for George W. Bush (2005-2009), will be lecturing on Thursday night on the topic, “A Notre Dame Witness for Life.” Mr. McGurn, currently a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, will be speaking in Room 155 DeBartolo Hall and there will be a reception following his lecture. The lecture will be open to the public.

In his talk, Mr. McGurn will be exploring the ways in which the University of Notre Dame is of special significance for the pro-life cause globally. Mr. McGurn offered the following comments on what he plans to talk about:

“President Obama’s invitation to speak at Notre Dame comes at a moment when the nation’s most prominent Catholics — our Vice President, our Speaker of the House, the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services — are all strong and unequivocal advocates for enshrining abortion into the law as a constitutional right. For the prolife community, the issue is not so much opposition to a commencement speaker as what we long to see at Our Lady’s university: affirmation for the premier civil rights cause of our day. In a nation wounded by Roe, in a culture that sets mothers against their own children, we know this: Our church, our culture, and our country are poorer without the life witness of Notre Dame.”

(Cross-posted on Return to Rome)

The Roman virtue signifying one’s duty to family, in particular parents.  It also appears to be something Christopher Buckley, the son of William F. Buckley, is lacking.

Rod Dreher makes a half-hearted defense of Christopher Buckley’s exposé of his recently departed mother and father.  Dreher describes Christopher Buckley as being in the “impossible position” of choosing between telling the truth and honoring his parents.  Whatever happened to respectful silence?

My favorite contemporary theologian, David Bentley Hart, has an interview with John J. Miller on NRO’s Between the Covers concerning his new book, Atheist Delusions:  The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies.  It’s a rather vague but interesting interview; Dr. Hart is not one for the sound-bite, but he is always well-worth listening to.  

He is one of the more formidable presences in today’s theological cirlces; I was stunned some time ago when he assaulted a sympathetic reader in the letters portion of First Things concerning some (to him) inexcusable error regarding Dionysius the Areopagite (can’t have that now, can we?).  Made me love him all the more.

This is what joy really looks like:

Charter Members, Obama Book Exchange

Given the historic irony that Gallic diplomats were among those who walked out of Ahmadippitydobag’s anti-Semitic diatribe at the United Nations’ laughable racism summit, it seemed appropriate to go with the original French for the title of this post.

Here is Little Mahmoud’s reaction to the 2009 Obama “Scrape, Grovel and Apologize” Tour:

Mr. Ahmadinejad, in a rambling speech, accused Israel of being the “most cruel and racist regime” and pointed the finger at the United States and Europe for helping to establish the country after World War II “under the pretext of Jewish suffering.”

I am waiting with bated breath for the denunciation of the Iranian madman’s slurs by Obama’s Venezuelan buddy, shown above.   Hope and change!

*”The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Alphonse Karr, Les Guepes [Janvier 1849] (according to my 15th edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations)

Another op-ed from a North Carolina business man in favor of Charter Schools, in particular note his incentives to help address oversight problems with charter schools and to promote strategic and steady growth of new schools.

H/t: Jacques of all Trades