Month: September 2009

Tactics Vs. Strategy

by Patrick Appel

In his column this week, Andrew remains confident that Obama will get healthcare reform done:

Obama has a solid majority and can achieve all this with Democratic votes alone. So why is he in such trouble? Partly it is that this kind of reform rightly stirs scepticism, and Obama has allowed a hapless and divided Congress to take the lead, muddying the message. Partly it is that the hard right is becoming more and more extreme and its fears have eclipsed the hopes of Obama’s supporters. But the most critical part, in my view, is the public understanding that after two massive bank bailouts and a vast stimulus package, with two still-intractable wars, the US cannot afford even the modest 10-year trilliondollar package Obama is proposing. And Obama’s inability to cut spending while the economy is so fragile means he is constrained from offering fiscal reassurance.

So, tactically, Obama is on the defensive. Strategically? Again, he is stronger than he now appears. When the health insurance bill is passed and elderly Americans are not rounded up into concentration camps and granny isn’t subjected to euthanasia, and when many uninsured people gain a peace of mind they have never felt before, and people become able to change job without fearing loss of insurance, the Republican scare tactics may come to seem absurd.

Thought Writing

by Patrick Appel

Hilmar Schmundt enters the realm of science fiction:

DIZ SENTENS IS WRUTEN WID TAUGHTS. No keyboard, no hands, no blinking even. I think, therefore I write. My original plan was to write this article with nothing but the power of thought, but the technology of transforming ideas into characters is still crude and prone to error. The first word alone took a few minutes, and even after that the result was still "diz" instead of "this." Still, that little sentence is like a little miracle. The old dream of mind-reading is slowly becoming reality — though this time around it is the product of machines rather than the minds of fiction writers.

Atheists Destroying Mother Earth?

by Chris Bodenner

The Pope voices some curious logic:

Is it not true that inconsiderate use of creation begins where God is marginalized or also where is existence is denied? If the human creature’s relationship with the Creator weakens, matter is reduced to egoistic possession, man becomes the “final authority,” and the objective of existence is reduced to a feverish race to possess the most possible.

Daniel Florien scratches his head:

[I] haven’t met an atheist that isn’t concerned about our environment — though I’m sure there are some. Most Christians who don’t care about the environment do so on the basis that God has things under control and he’ll eventually torch the earth anyway. Atheists, on the other hand, believe this is the only home we have and we need to take care of it.

Stuff Christian Culture Likes

by Chris Bodenner

A preacher's daughter creates another sociological site (not to be confused with Stuff Christians Like). Here's an entry on backrub chains:

[They] appear frequently at youth groups and bible camps. Whenever pubescent Christians of mixed gender are gathered to study the Bible or worship, the likelihood that a backrub chain will form is increased tenfold. Backrub chains do not appear nearly as often in non-Christian settings. This may be because there is more frustration present in people who “struggle” with kissing, etc. before marriage. In the evangelical subculture, mass backrubs in an open setting are considered acceptable.

Hiding Behind The Sacrament

by Chris Bodenner

My favorite email on annulments so far:

I understand your skepticism of point 5. To demonstrate why such a vague description might be important, let me offer you the story of my parents' annulment.

My mother and father married in good faith, mostly. I say "mostly" because "good faith" on my mother's end meant that she thought God's blessing on her marriage would end her attraction to women. It did not. My parents went through a very painful annulment as a result. (As a response to your later reader: In the eyes of the Church, I was told by a childhood priest, I am not illegitimate.) It's sort of a dramatic case, but I think it's illustrative: a lot of people put a great deal of faith in the sacrament of marriage to cure woes it actually cannot. My mother thought, mistakenly, that marriage would end her conflict about her sexuality by magically making her straight.

I am pleased to report that coming out of the closet actually cured most of her conflict about her sexuality — by allowing her to accept who she was. Although "Lack of appreciation of the full implications of marriage" is vague enough to include, say, not understanding that marriage is forever, I think the clause is there more for people like my mom, whether it's because they're gay or for another reason. Lots of people, Catholics included, get married to "fix" something and are surprised when it doesn't work. That's human, I think, and although I am no longer a believer, I think the Catholic Church is better than most at understanding the human condition, in all its frailties.