Waste Not, Want Not; Georgetown University's Hook-up Culture; and Aborted Baby Parts

And odd confluence of events, all of which revolve around the sheer usefulness of the human body.

It can give pleasure, when a sexual event "happens", (if you read the whole thing you'll see that apparently no one "did" anything to cause the life to begin, that would have inconvenienced a young woman, and probably the young man with whom she had no "relationship" as well, terribly):

I cannot help but harbor resentment and sadness at the hypocrisy.* When the Office of the President sent an email advertising for an event, called “Resisting the ‘Throwaway Culture,’” on April 5 calling for an end to violence and citing “the destruction of unborn children,” I recoiled. When I sat down to write this and realized it had been eight months and 15 days since a six-week pregnancy was terminated and what that timeline means for me now, I sat there looking at my calendar unable to comprehend how different my life could have been.

A baby just happened, so his mother unhappened him?
And of course, the civil debate at Georgetown to which the Empress of Abortistan will contribute is coming up.

The news that Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards will speak at Georgetown University reignited a perennial debate about freedom and identity in religious universities, particularly Catholic institutions....On the same day of Richards’ speech (April 20), Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood staffer turned abortion opponent, is also expected to speak.

 

Planned Parenthood: like the Plains Indians, usin' every part of the Buffalo!

Because isn't is a good thing when an organization that takes government money is thrifty, and takes the initiative to get a few bucks for something that would otherwise go to waste?

And now we have this:

Georgetown University will rename two buildings named for school presidents who organized the sale of Jesuit-owned slaves to help pay off campus debt in the 1830s, the university’s president announced.

I don't think the usefulness of slaves, both as labor and as an almost liquid asset when you need funds quickly can be overestimated.

 

*I've tried, I've re-read it, I just can't see what the hypocrisy is whihc she condemns. Let me know if you figure it out.

"And then Oedipus and Jocasta, assured by their supporters on social media that '#LoveWins', decided...."

In the great time suck that is Those Interwebs, ostensibly searching for some information about children and catechetics on the super highway, I found myself on a bypass about the irrationality and inconsistency of the current tv and movie rating system, and then went up a dead-end about the size of Cinderella's, (AKA Lilly James',) waist, pulled in to a private driveway and noticed something tantalizing about how to nip in the waist of an oversized button up shirt, had to back up to the intersection where I saw a criticism of children's literature that was not protective of the environment/blended families/the Other among us, and decided to go brew a cup, no, a mug, stadium cup of almond tea.

But while sipping, the thought came that there is a great misapprehension of the purpose of the fairy tale.

We get modern takes, and reboots and re-writes, and outright bannings of fables that fail to impart information in the manner of a user's manual.
We want Common Core nuts and bolts to help make us better worker bees instead of the grandeur and deeper truths of myth, shrunk to childsize for little hands, and pureed for mouths not yet containging any permanent teeth.
Cinderella isn't about women needing men to take care of them but about spousal and familial love being a greater goal and a rarer prize than almost any other in this life, finer than extravagant clothes and grand houses, (and certainly than inherited wealth, or servants to boss about.)

Have we done this with, (more than the occasional movie, such as the nit-wit Troy, and all stories from the Bible, on which there is open season) do we do this to creation tales, and to myth, as well?

Is there a volume of Greek and Roman Myths that functions as an apologia for Jocasta's incest and assures us that no, Time doesn't devour his children? where Narcissus has a learning experience, falls in and, rescued by followers who learn of his plight via Instagram, resolves to limit himself to only a few selfies a day? Does Atalanta not just scoop up the golden fruit but speed past Melanion just the same, magnanimously allow him to live and go off with her best gal pal to a life of lesbian bliss?

San Fransico Thought Police and Their Media Minions Did Their Damnedest to Discredit, Demoralize and Drive Out Catholic Church in the Name of Minorities, Needy...

... apparently either unaware or simply unconcerned that the end game would be so damaging to actual minorities and the needy in the process.

Since, ya know, simply as a human institution She, like, does good stuff.
Necessary stuff.
Society-enhancing stuff.
Life saving stuff.

But as long as you're happy, er... gay, er.... happy.

Are They Really Being Denied "Rights" or Are They Snatching At Privilege?

Per the headline, girls are being "denied right to honor...heritage."
Not sure of any of this, but it seems as if someone is trying to paint sort of averagely transgressive teenagers as "victims."
Are the little darlings actually being made to "alter their attire" and "their whole selves" when they choose one month to wear ethic/heritage headgear?
For that to be true, wouldn't geles need to be an item which they wore all the time, not just for Black Pride Month?
The principal is herself Black, so I suspect she has a better handle on this than Professional Grievance Hunters.
Of course, one then wonders if other national or ethnic headdresses or other clothing that violates the dress code is acceptable at certain times, (if so, than this should certainly be added to the exceptions.)
Many school of which I know, for instance, have a navy/dark green/white/khaki pallate but allow red and green on the days before Christmass vacation, or gaudy Kelly green on St Paddy's.
Is there a day when all the kids with Scandinavian ancestors show up like this?

Young Yahoos at Yale: Hollow Wienies, or Wugwats Wooking Faw a Widdoo Home Away Fwom Home

The kiddies men and women of Yale did not have much fun with their trick or treating this year.
Was somebody faced with a shortage of the special orange and white chocolate Halloween Kit Kats?
Not exactly.
What happened was, one administrator sent out a missive to all the children suggesting that offensive masquerade costumes were.... well, you know - offensive.
Some children thought they were being treated like children.
Then another administrator sent one reminding the children that on their way to becoming grown ups, one of the ways we become big boys and girls is by being freed to make the kind of stupid decisions little boys and girls do.
Some of them then proceeded to lie down in the middle of the mall and kick and scream.
Others threatened to hold their breath until they tuned blue.
One or two peed themselves, I think, but that may not have been deliberate, or "transgressive," but just nervous shpilkes, from the thrill and the pressure of being allowed to try their hands at growing up, maybe even going out trick or treating without a baby sitter!
 (That may just have been too much...)
Crowds gathered, screaming and yelling at the Master of Slytherin and his wife, (she's something to do with the Ministry of Getting Us All Fitted Out In Big Kid Panties.)
Hundreds of the little ones surrounded them, told them what they ought to think and when offered the chance to dialogue or talk over sandwiches or something were told, "No, don' wanna," and sucked their thumbs to bolster their side of the reasoned discourse.
Fortunately, one little miss  was brave enough to speak, and explained to one of the nannies, in, er.... robust tones,

"Be quiet...It is your job to create a place of comfort and home for the students… Do you understand that? Why the f*** did you accept the position? Who the f*** hired you?... step down! If that is what you think about being a Master, then you should step down. It is not about creating an intellectual space! It is not! Do you understand that? It’s about creating a home here! You are not doing that. You’re going against that"

which, when you think about it is really pretty funny, since if most people used that kind of language when negotiating with the adults upon whom they depend, and whom they expect to warm their bottles and change their diapers "create a home" for them, they would, to use words the darling babes can understand, get the s*** beat out of their f****** a****.

Doncha think?

And This Is How We Have Singers Who Rise To Fame on the Usual Vocal Skills...

.... you know, physical beauty or dance ability.
(Intonation? Nah, fuggedaboudit, we got auto-tune for that.)

Take a look at this, Andrew Balio's indictment of the standard-free education in the arts that is being pushed by some, (well, objective standards, anyway, are being thrown to the wind.)

He writes from the POV of musicians, but the plastic arts are leading the way.

Music conservatories have until now largely resisted the impulses that have transformed our art schools. But art schools long ago succumbed to the delusion that sets creativity and originality ahead of discipline. They long ago embraced the widespread cultural rebellion against tradition in all its forms; generations ago they rejected the practice of “teaching as it was taught to me.” They have effectively broken with the past. They’re even wildly successful at turning out entrepreneurs: modern artists are now rolling their “art” off of assembly lines straight into museums. A 2011 Wall Street Journal article by Stan Sesser, “The Art Assembly Line” described this phenomenon:

Alexander Gorlizki is an up-and-coming artist…[whose] work has been displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Denver Art Museum and Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, among others, and sells for up to $10,000. Mr. Gorlizki lives in New York City. The paintings are done by seven artists who work for him in Jaipur, India. “I prefer not to be involved in actually painting,” says Mr. Gorlizki, who adds that it would take him 20 years to develop the skills of his chief Indian painter, Riyaz Uddin. “It liberates me not being encumbered by the technical proficiency,” he says.

We don’t have to squint to see where this road that our reformers are rushing down ends. Indeed we are fortunate to have such an explicit example to study. Before we bid our conservatories follow our art schools into the great modern experiment, then, we ought to ask ourselves—and consider carefully—whether or not the experiment has been successful.

Movies and musicals are assembled by committees and focus groups, cuteness counts, and PR trumps beauty. With Scrooge, I'll retire to Bedlam.

Adventures In Sunday School Land

Of course, it had to happen.
As of this week, I do have The Kid.
Ya know him, ya love him -- you've had him in choir, or in gym, or at a family reunion until which you didn't know your cousin had spawned, or standing in front of you in line at Walmart making the most of the musical capacities of flatulence.

He is the one who never heard a rude noise he didn't enjoy, never accepted anything he was told on first hearing, never found an object with which he couldn't make noise or poke into his nearest classmate, never touched a book he was not tempted to tear, and never gave any adult a moment's peace.

My assignment, should I choose to accept it, is to love him.

And on the other hand, I don't have to take him home with me. One of my colleagues not only has an unruly class, several years ago she apparently gave birth to a Tasmanian devil, a girl not old enough for school but who, unfortunately,is of an age to be able to walk, and who, anyone who has ever babysat will know, the mother has no choice but to bring to class because no one else in their right mind would take custody of the imp. (Pause to offer up a prayer for all such mothers, who, see? are not limited to those with boys.)

ON THE OTHER HAND FROM THAT ONE, (that third hand I keep in reserve for just such occasions,) - this is the only group of kids I've ever had where all of them, or most of the boys at least, did not snicker every time I said the word "love."

(Which, as you can imagine, comes up a lot in catechesis.)

So, on balance, a good Sunday.

"To Teach Who Christ Is"

Last week a "guest" celebrant, who to all intents and purposes works in mission territory, preached on the gospel at our Mass.
Brilliantly, I might add - insisting that we answered that question by learning who we were, who we were meant to be.
But that first question, the one Christ asked his disciples...
That is the central question for us in our mission, isn't it? the one each of us answers through our mission, whatever it might be, Who do you say that I AM?

Today, I received in snail mail a letter from a parish I have a connection to back in Chicagoland, giving a heads up on a campaign that is being kicked off, "To Teach Who Christ Is."
I must admit, I would react with less ambivalence if the Cardinal whose idea this initially was. were still in charge.
I have been unkind in my reactions to a number of events recently, and to the people whose actions and attitudes drove those events.
I don't want to turn into one of those bitter people whose every reaction in such cases is negative, guided less by the actual merits of something than by preconceived notions of the people involved.

I am certainly as gung ho as possible about actual Catholic eduction, I support it.

But does the fact that I have doubts about the Catholicity of what some people call "Catholic" education say more about their failings or my own?

Yet I feel strongly that if the foundation of all attempts to spread the Faith, (even, yes, by the "solemn nonsense" of "proselytising,") if the foundation of our efforts is not the Source and Summit of our Faith, and if we don't employ the evangelical and catechetical power of the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Celebration that is the Mass, what hope have we?

Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.

And we encounter that Person, Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten, the Son of the Living God, most thoroughly, most completely in the Eucharist, and we bring others  most closely to Him in the same, life altering event.

Why do I not trust the intentions of some of my co-religionists?

First Day of Sunday School

Okay, I never expected to ever say this, and I'll probably never say it again, but I loved my first class!!!!!!!

It was fun. They are insane noisy but engaged. It is small enough that I can deal with everyone as he needs, (or as I think he needs.)

I know, it won't last, more will trickle in as the year goes on until it become unwieldy, but for now, I'm loving it.

We strayed way off plan, and it was swell -- quite a long conversation on why we have Crucifixes around when they obviously show something "bad," and what paradoxes are, and how our Faith is full of seeming contradictions, and the concept of both/and....

Oh, and on the assumption that few of them went or will go to Mass, I decided to over emotively read at least one lectionary reading every week, and boy, did James go down well, and it led right in to acting out the dividing into the sheep and the goats, and how was I supposed to know that was you, Jesus?

And how are we supposed to know? and OHHHHHHH! it's ALWAYS Him!

All in all, I was exhausted but happy.

"Catholish" School

Over at the CMAA forum there was a job notification.

The name of the parish seemed familiar, and indeed, it was one that had been in the news because some folks at what I incorrectly recalled as the parish school were opposed to the Catholicism of the newly appointed pastor.
A new hire often means there was a new pastor, but my fears were allayed,  he is still the pastor.
What he is not is chaplain of the school.
Which is not a bad thing. Not a good thing, either, but not a bad thing, since the school may not be, in any meaningful way, actually Catholic.
At least, they're doing their dam-- best not to convey that impression to anyone.

On the page laying out their "philosophy" Catholicism never rears its controversial head, the word "Catholic" is never used, nor is "Christian," for that matter, though they confess to be on a "path to Christ" however meandering, (not "the," never "the," that would be exclusionary, we know there are plenty of ways to the Way, right?)
The simply invoked "Mary," is their patron, (don't want to bog things down with talk of "Blessed" or "Mother of God," or "Virgin.")
On the page declaring the school's "mission," they do dare the word "Catholic," in the name of the school, even. But only as an afterthought in stating their name, not when the name is first introduced.

And certainly not as part of their name in their seal, proudly proclaiming who they are.

Well, at least the education they offer is holistic.
And how could it not be? 
Because, Authentic Educational Technology.

And I remember now why I avoid Mass on a college campus...

... and if in the future I can figure out a way to describe it with charity, I shall.

(For now, Himself tells me I should have seen the stares, and goggling I drew by kneeling for the consecration.)

Catholic Schools Promoting Catholic Teaching - the Unmitigaged Gall !!!!

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield IL seems to be under the impression that those schools in his purview are for the creation of virtuous persons!

Oh, my God, is there no end to the wickedness of Papists?

He seems not to understand that his Church is just a collection of arbitrary rules and suggestions, that have no place in the making of moral and ethical decisions!
How dare he foist his opinions and his beliefs on people who are just looking for a cheap alternative to prep schools, (as indicated by the way, according to stats provided by one of the secular news outlets that has its panties in a bunch the percentage of non-Catholic attending Catholic school in the diocese jumps from elementary to high school,)?

And if parents of a child in the school are publicly flouting what those wacky Catholic Christians is mandated by God's law or by natural law he's, oh my God, I can hardly bring myself to type this --- he's insisting that they dialogue!
Yes, that's right, you're not seeing things, he wants them to come in for a [shudder] MEETING.

Because, you know, the Worship of God and Salvation of Souls.

Oh the humanity!

[/snarcasm]
Do you suppose the Catholic parents of a child in an evangelical protestant school are within their rights to insist that when the kiddies are doing art projects, or working on memorization that utilize scripture, that they not use the KJV, or NLT or NIV,  little Mary Bernadette will use the NAB, thank you very much?
Or is it only Catholics who provoke these diatribes when they promote a way of life that's, um, Catholic?

Can you imagine if an Islamic school in the US told the owner of a liquor distributor who wished to enroll his kids in a madrassa to be prepared, that the were not going to avoid  the Muslim teaching on alcohol just to please him?
Or a Christian Scientist, (or do I mean Jehovah's Witnesses?) school agreed never to mention their attitude toward blood transfusions?
Or a group that engaged in ecstatic dancing promised a parent of a denom that forbade dancing that they would water down or gloss over  their religion for him?

Or any religion whose teachings included any stances that were counter-cultural which ran a school?

Would the State Journal-Register be whinging about that?
Dubious.

Here's the document for Springfield that parents are asked to sign.
Oh, you're not Catholic? Who is forcing you to enroll your kids there?

There's an old saying in community theatre that too many star wannabes and drive-by members of the organization don't realize that it's more about "community" that "theatre."

Well, many parents, Catholic and non-, and of course the secular media, don't understand that Catholic Schools are and should be more about Catholicism than Scholarship. The latter is an accidental, and its purpose is to reinforce the former.

The money thing, the tithing?
I don't know about any of the parochial and high schools in Springfield, but in any other diocese of which I've had any knowledge even the out-of-parish, out of the Faith tuition didn't begin to cover the actual costs per student.

The sacrifices made by the teachers, (most could get much better money elsewhere,) and the average PIP, (most of whom, childless or not, do not have children in the schools in question,) are to build up the Faith, to build up the Church, to produce good Catholic, to - I can hardly believe this needs saying and I know when it is said it is roundly mocked - TO SAVE SOULS.

Here endeth the rant.

"Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans"

Um... because you could?
Because you don't mind taking something and not paying for it?
Because working because you need to to fulfill obligation is for suckers?

I began reading the opinion piece thinking it would be by an apologist for the way education is set up now, the endlessly rising costs, that make those who work less and less richer and richer, while actual teaching is left to a subordinate class that lives in poverty.
Or someone to whom life had been cruel, who had to leave without a degree because of family tragedy.
Or someone who simply couldn't cut higher education but had been lured into taking usurious loans out for the equivalent of a trade school with the promise of jobs that weren't there.
Or he got his degree in philosophy before the bottom dropped out of the philosophy market.
Or...

But no.
This was a guy back in the old days when costs and benefits were pretty clear cut.
Who, although there was trouble at home, did not have to leave school.
Who apparently liked the setup of higher education, since he then went on to get advanced degrees. (He tries to kind of slough over that, by telling us, My mother could no longer afford the tuition that the student loans weren’t covering. I transferred to a state college in New Jersey, closer to home, I guess things worked out for him, since his degree AND HIS GRAD WORK, which I imagine he undertook of his own free will? were at an Ivy league school. In New York)
And who, to hear him tell it, could have done work that would have brought in enough money to pay his debt.

But (cue violins to underscore the whining,) rich people have it easy! and I'm more useful to society in other ways!

At least that's the gist of his argument, (not sure if he actually asked society......)

He and his family, ( wonder if his kids will change their names before they apply for college/scholarships/student loans...) live in a lovely town, I know because I grew up a few towns away.

(If you suspect the writer might be unprincipled in other ways as well, google "Siegel" and "sockpuppet.")

Himself asked, which I had not thought to, why did the NYTimes print that? What was their take? If they wanted to call attention to the genuine plight of many people, this guy was a pretty sorry excuse for the sympathetic face of the problem you'd like to present.)

She Must Be So Proud of Her Name Sake University....

On the other hand, what Catholic can't be pleased to know that Notre Dame is in touch with at least some sort of  tradition?

 Soon a questionable tradition called the “Bun Run” will be upon us again. For those who don’t know, this is an event that usually takes place on Sunday night before finals week where a handful of male students hide behind masks and run naked through campus buildings, disrupting students and staff.
As a Notre Dame Food Services manager at The Huddle for 25 years, I work with 200 employees. On behalf of my employees, I respectfully ask you to consider a few things before participating in or supporting this event. We have been dealing with the negative effects of this for years, and we’ve received numerous complaints from staff.
Our employees are here to help and serve the students and should not to be subjected to harassment and offensive behavior at their daily jobs. My female staff often request schedule changes or hide in the kitchen or elsewhere in the building when this event takes place. They work extremely hard and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. This creates a hostile work environment for them. How would you feel if your mother or grandmother were working here and someone did this to them?

What does it say about Catholic college life that the, (probably under-compensated,) food service workers have a greater sense of decorum than frat boys those pursuing  higher education?

 

What would your Mother say?

"Hate Speech"

I'm curious, at what point does criticism cross the line into hate speech?

Does it have more to do with whose ox is being gored than with the words supposedly doing the goring?

I'm not seeing the "attacks, threat[s], or insults" that the petition says qualifies as "hate speech," (though they might be there, I certainly haven't heard or read every word that the teacher in question has written or pronounced - just haven't seen them in any of the "evidence.")

Perhaps the time has come to replace the bromide of "hate the sin but love the sinner," with the profession that Catholicism, (which actually calls us to articles of faith which we believe are the will of God, not just nice feelings,) hates the heresy without hating the heretic?

Update: Apparently, my guess that the ownership of said ox might be parmount was correct. "Nightmare dumpster human," for instance, is, I guess you'd say, "love speech."

As Catholic As They Wanna Be...

... instead of as Catholic as the world/political correctness/governmental agencies tasked with oversight of employee healthcare/people who demand that those who demonstrate contempt for your beliefs are entitled to  work for you if they want/armchair activists might be willing to allow them to be.

Wyoming Catholic College... [c]iting concerns about federal rules on birth control and same-sex marriage...decided this winter to join a handful of other religious colleges in refusing to participate in the federal student-aid programs that help about two-thirds of students afford college.

I find it hard to...  like a place that brags that its students are permitted to carry guns but not cell phones, but there you have it, opposition to enforced political correctness makes absolutely whack bed-fellows.
I'm still wondering about this,

Students who are transgender.... “would be contravening church teaching just by being here.”

Does either doctrine, dogma or discipline really address this specific psychological problem?
(As I recall, one of St Joan of Arc's "crimes" was wearing masculine attire.)
Or does the term "transgender" mean something more than "identifying," are there particular actions one would need to take to be considered "transgender" - can urges absent acting upon those urges be sinful?

The Meaning of "Myth"

Speaking of martyrdom and myths, have you noticed that the meaning of the word "myth" has changed?

There's that Notre Dame professor, for instance, whose subject matter is actually martyrs in the early Church, (when the subject isn't, quit your fussing and pay for my birth control, which in her mind is a related topic.)

Well, you know, as a professor, she must be very smart, so if she has decided to redefine "myth" to mean, well, yeah, true, but not as bad as you're making it out to be...." we should take heed, right?

Other instances of this new usage of "myth" are to discredit reports of protesters chanting “What do we want? Dead cops!”, since other reporting had erroneously claimed that protesters were chanting "kill a cop," when they were actually referring to murderous police as "kill-ER cops."

Similarly, if you disagree on the causes of climate change, or the degree to which blame for it can be laid at various doors, you can refer to the whole dang thing as a "myth."

Why Does EVERYONE Need To Know How To Write Code?

Was doing a little scrabbling around the Those Interwebs because I have a bee in my bonnet -- now there's an expression past its sell-by date, forget bonnets, per se, I'm nearly the only woman I know besides Queen Elizabeth who still wears a hat, so there's your answer, Elaine Stritch.
Not that I know-know the queen, but... where was I? (Bloggo, ergo, digresso.)

Oh yes...
So I'm reading a little about GoFundMe et al, which are starting to irk me for reasons I won't go into now, and I come across a fundraising effort that by its very existence is, in effect, the implicit statement that every educated person needs to know how to code, or at least to know how to code as well as an hour of computer science will accomplish, (I think. I admit that I didn't finish reading the page.)

Do they?
I should ask, do we? since I certainly can't do it.

One site, which more or less accepts the necessity of such knowledge as a given, compares the skill to typing.

But actually, we didn't all need to know how to type.
Truth to tell, more people need to know there way around the old qwerty keyboard now than did in the days when it seems that typing was taught to almost everyone in public schools.
The success stories seem to center around creating apps, building websites and entering the gaming industry, which don't seem to me to be universal aspirations.

I have a friend who told his second grade teacher, (true story - I've seen the letter sent home,) that he didn't need to learn how to spell because he'd have a secretary to do that.

As it happens he doesn't, what he has is a spellchecker. And while he has reached the sort of lofty position where he would have had at least one if not several secretaries, he is, in fact, in an industry whose egalitarian facade precludes such notions as "boss" and "secretary" or "assistant."

Instead he is a member of a "team" on which his signing bonus and salary dwarf those of his playmates.
And he uses a keyboard himself.

But he still can't spell worth a darn.

Now, he can write code like Dante could write Italian, elegantly, indicatively, but that's what he does.

Do I need to write code? does every schoolchild?

Any more than we need to know how to pluck a chicken? or build an internal combustion engine? or can peaches? (Of course, I understand from the survivlaists that when the Barbarian Hordes of the Coming Apocalypse are at the door, I'll be eating my words - since I'll have precious little else to eat. Oh, well...)

I'm sure I'm wrong, and if so I'd love to know why.