Rep. Bart Stupak’s stupaking on the health care reform bill has led Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn to wonder if the pro-life Democratic politician, already an endangered species, has finally gone the way of the Dodo: By caving at the last hour, he discredited all who stood with him. (What does it say about … Read more
Last week I mentioned that food companies are beginning to phase out high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Some of the discussion that followed my post questioned whether HFCS was any different than regular table sugar. Now a Princeton University research team says it is. Research, the results of which were published in the Journal Pharmacology, … Read more
In yesterday’s Washington Post, columnist Kathleen Parker debuted a new term: Stupak. Etymology: Eponym for Rep. Bart Stupak. Function: verb 1: In a legislative process, to obstruct passage of a proposed law on the basis of a moral principle (i.e., protecting the unborn), accumulating power in the process, then at a key moment surrendering in … Read more
Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with Rev. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., on the phone from his Trinity Retreat Center in Larchmont, New York. Father Groeschel is recovering from a nasty cold, and we were speaking about other matters, but I couldn’t resist keeping him on the phone long enough to hear his thoughts on the health-care vote. … Read more
This story from Catholic News Service bears the headline: Cardinal praises expanded health care but fears remain on abortion  The cardinal in question is Cardinal George of Chicago, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He gave an interview to Nancy Frazier O’Brien and said the following, which prompted the headline: We … Read more
This story from Catholic News Service bears the headline: Cardinal praises expanded health care but fears remain on abortion  The cardinal in question is Cardinal George of Chicago, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He gave an interview to Nancy Frazier O’Brien and said the following, which prompted the headline: We … Read more
Yesterday marked the 100’s anniversary of the birth of the man considered by many to be the greatest, most influential film director of all time: Akira Kurosawa. Affectionately (or fearfully, perhaps) known as “The Emperor” on his sets, his visual style, thematic ideas, and absolute mastery of the medium profoundly influenced countless generations of filmmakers. Spielberg once referred to … Read more
This weekend, millions of Americans marked the passage of the health-care bill the only way they could: by reverently retiring the Stars and Stripes that fly at their homes and running up the Maple Leaf. That’s unfair to Canada, but since when have we Yanks felt bad about that? The Canadian and European single-payer health-care … Read more
I wasn’t surprised to hear that Ann Coulter’s speech at the University of Ottawa was cancelled last night. Two thousand students showed up to protest her appearance and authorities were afraid rioting would break out, so they canned her: “What Ann Coulter is practicing is not free speech, it’s hate speech,” [one student] said. “She’s … Read more
A huge hat-tip to our friend Lizzie Scalia for posting a link to this 360 virtual tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As someone who has never been to the Holy Land (and has no immediate hope of going), I find this totally mesmerizing, and moving. A nice way to gear up for … Read more
I belong to a relatively liberal congregation. For instance, the former pastor often applied St. Paul’s admonition about “freedom from the law” to Vatican “laws,” and asked for and received an exemption from the 2002 reemphasis by our bishop on kneeling after the Sanctus; and the present pastor, before the last election, mentioned in a … Read more
As part of my continuing efforts to avoid thinking about this law for as long as possible, I happened across an article that made about as much sense to me as the 2,500+ page behemoth signed earlier today, only without any of the damaging long-term implications of H.R. 3590: Action still resulted in an equal and … Read more
Acupuncture… I swear by it, and I know many others who do, too. Back when it was considered mere quackery in the West, my physician father was studying it and even practiced it on his college football injuries to decrease inflammation and help with pain. Yesterday, Wall Street Journal health columnist Melinda Beck reported on … Read more
According to a panel of obesity experts, the Last Supper has been getting super-sized in artistic representations through the years: The Cornell University team studied 52 of the most famous paintings of the Biblical scene over the millennium and scrutinised the size of the feast. They found the main courses, bread and plates put before … Read more
Good news for the hungry tourists of Pompeii: Vetutius Placidus’ snack bar is reopening after extensive renovations. This being Italy, the work took almost 1900 years. Three hundred specially invited guests are to taste the delights of Roman fast food in the thermopolium (that’s snack bar to you and me) in a special ceremony to … Read more
I once read an interview with Garrison Keillor in which he recounted going to a funeral. During the final prayers, the minister prayed for the deceased — “and for the next person here who is going to die.” He said that most of the guests were outraged and offended, but that he was moved and … Read more
In the wake of yesterday’s demoralizing — (how I wish that word were not quite so appropriate) — events, I, like Margaret, have sought for ways to distract myself from the draining aftermath of the health-care debate. And I find myself taking some comfort in the fact that we’ll always have Paris: Harmonizing the 17 rows and … Read more
On November 17, 1942, the Catholic publisher Wilfred Meynell celebrated his 90th birthday in Greatham, southwest of London. He would live another six years and, with the noise of RAF fighter planes a familiar sound daily, he could boast that he was born the year the Duke of Wellington died. Henry Edward Cardinal Manning … Read more
It’s raining here in Baltimore today, and the mood on the Web is similarly bleak, so I thought we could all use a little reprieve from the doom and gloom — hence, the awesomeness in the trailer below for the Discovery Channel’s Life series. I managed to catch the premiere on TV last night, and … Read more
Not every pro-life opponent of the healthcare reform bill is infuriated with Rep. Bart Stupak. Over at Catholic Online, our good friend Deacon Keith Fournier, while greatly disappointed with Stupak’s decision, nevertheless defends him against some of the harsher critics. [Stupak] seems to honestly believe that with this Executive Order, the current Hyde Amendment language … Read more