Thoughts on Why Romney Lost

I haven’t got the heart to really write well about this today, so I’m copying and pasting a bit from Twitter this morning. There, I was looking at Republicans and conservatives bemoaning and trying to figure out what kind of candidate the GOP needs to put forth in order to win. But most of them are off-base.  Here’s what I said there:

#FACT: The GOP can reach out all it wants, but as long as America loves the #CultureOfDeath as much as she does, it won’t do a damn thing. The problem isn’t necessarily our candidates, but the fact that our country is largely selfish. And it lies on BOTH sides of the aisle. Yes, Libs have cultivated culture of Gimme Free Stuff, but Conservatives are often just as selfish when it comes to Christian duty to poor. [And here I am not talking about more government programs, for Catholic Social Teaching does not require us to have a leviathan government that provides for people. Authentic Catholic Social Justice comes from *us* - the people in the neighborhoods that are hurting. But that's for another day.] So until our country learns humility and true charity, this is what we get: a small, petty man to be president of a small, petty country.

The fact is, the majority of people in our country now see selfishness and nihilism as more important than true charity and the protection of life and liberty. People would rather have meaningless sex with whomever they choose (no matter how empty they feel afterwards) than try to live up to a higher standard. They’d rather play God and decide whose life is worth living (from womb to tomb) than to see the inherent dignity of every human soul. They’d rather have a comfortable life provided by others than try to work hard and improve their own lot. And they’d rather have the stuff they want given to them than look at what freedoms they’re taking away from others in order to get them.

So the fact is, it’s not who the GOP puts out there that’s the problem. It’s our culture. We live in a Culture of Death, one that has embraced Death whole-heartedly. One in which children are seen as optional burdens that we may or may not take on, and in which we are willing to allow government panels to look at cost efficiency when it comes to deciding the level of care our loved ones will receive.

But we have Obamaphone, we have sosh security, we have Obamacare. And we’ve got Swamp People and Honey Boo Boo and Dancing with the Stars and Survivor and American Idol and TV shows that desensitize our families to gay “marriage.” We can’t drink 32 ounces of Coke in New York City, but we can legally light a joint in Colorado and under Obamacare my 14 year old daughter can be put on the Pill without my knowledge or consent.

Who cares if we don’t have liberty? Who cares if Catholics are forced underground because of the oppression that has begun under this president?

As long as we have bread and circuses, we’re all good.

The Church has survived this. The gates of Hell shall not prevail.

I Feel Like a Number

I was reading an article a friend posted on Facebook about women who become pregnant after being raped. A group of women formed a committee to speak out for women pregnant by sexual assault. Steve Ertelt writes:

A group called the Ad Hoc Committee of Women Pregnant by Sexual Assault (WPSA) is responding to the national debate about rape and abortion. The debate re-started thanks to controversial comments Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin made about “forcible rape.”

Heather Wilson, Deana Schroeder and other members of The Ad Hoc Committee of Women Pregnant By Sexual Assault have penned a column in response. They are demanding that their voices be heard and upset that many assume women who became pregnant after rape want an abortion.

The women talk about the assumption that everyone who is raped wants an abortion, and how very wrong this is. Statistics vary widely on just how many women abort if they do become pregnant after being raped, but this doesn’t matter, they say.

On one side are those who argue that pregnancies resulting from rape and incest occur so rarely that we shouldn’t let it impact public policy on abortion. This is hurtful to women who do become pregnant from rape or incest and who need support. It can also lead to questioning as to whether a woman or girl is telling the truth about being raped.

On the other side are those who perpetuate the myth that women and girls who become pregnant from sexual assault overwhelmingly want, need and benefit from having abortions. This also hurts women and fans the flames of prejudice toward those who do not want to have an abortion, even leading some to question whether a woman or girl who wishes not to abort has “really” been raped. And it can lead to strong pressure to abort by those who think the woman or girl does not know what is really best for her.

Despite the belief that most women in such circumstances would want an abortion, a national study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that only half of those who became pregnant from rape had an abortion. Another survey of pregnant sexual assault victims found that only 30 percent had abortions.

Whether the true number is closer to 30 or 50 percent doesn’t matter. What matters is that women and girls who become pregnant from rape or incest need real support and resources that meet their needs. In many cases, however, these needs are not met because most people assume that abortion will solve the problem. [emphasis added]

This got me thinking. And hard. It’s true that many pro-lifers, frustrated by straw-man tactics of abortion supporters, tend to blow off that small number of women who get pregnant after rape. I’ve been guilty of it myself. When it’s such a small percentage, it’s frustrating to have people say that the other 98% of abortions can be justified by that alone.

But these are not simply numbers. What we’re talking about here are real women, who have really been raped. They’re not just some statistic, some percentage.

And when I really thought about it, I realized that our tendency to gather data on everything in the world is dehumanizing our fellow man. And it’s not just Republicans or Democrats. It’s everyone.

Statistics … There are statistics for everything

How many times do you hear “35 million without insurance” or “23 million unemployed or underemployed” or “8% unemployment”? How often do you think about what those numbers really mean? When you hear about sequestration, about cutting defense heavily, do you think, “They’re talking about actual human beings. There are military families whose entire income might go away because the breadwinner cannot re-enlist. There are defense contractors who are going to have to lay off men and women whose families might not be able to make their mortgage because of it.”

When you hear about underemployed people, folks who took a lower-paying job just to start having some kind of income again, is there a face to go with that figure?

Unemployed men line up outside a soup kitchen in Chicago during the Great Depression

When you hear about the latest first-time unemployment benefits numbers, do you see in your mind a family whose father lost his job and is trying to pay college tuition for half his kids?

These aren’t just numbers. These aren’t just statistics.

These are people.

 

From now until the election, I have a challenge for you:

When you hear those numbers, any numbers or statistics about bad news, instead of just letting the figures wash over you or expressing outrage at whoever you think is responsible for the problem, pray for those people who are behind the numbers. Say a prayer for their families. Put a face with the numbers – at this point, I’m pretty sure every one of us has a face for the economic statistics we have. Pray for them, put their face to it.

Stop being angry about the numbers, and start praying for the people behind them.

Here’s a bit of music to go along with the idea. Lyrics are here.

In Which I Agree With … Helen Thomas??

Get up off the floor.  It’s true.  Kathryn Lopez has the story at The Corner:

(CNSNews.com) - Following a testy exchange during today’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Um… I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming.  But at least some of the press is waking up a bit.

Here’s the rest.  It is completely worth reading, especially her sparring with Gibbs.  Fantastic!

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Political Note

I loaded a video onto YouTube (been floating around in my head for a while).  It’s political in nature, so you can see it here:

Just Uploaded to YouTube

And it might not last.  Apparently, I already got caught for using copyrighted material.

And it is BLOCKED and is not showing up on my YouTube channel.  Wow.  It was done in about 45 minutes.

Good-Bye, Mr. President, and Thank You

I know some people who really dislike President Bush. I certainly don’t agree with everything he’s done, but he’s been a good president, and I see him as someone who is pretty principled. His ratings are in the toilet, yet he continues to do what he thinks is the right thing. Some people say he’s not pro-life enough, that he ought to actually be AT the March for Life. Personally, I cannot imagine the security measures that would need to be taken for him to mingle amongst 150,000-plus people. But he’s given us a message every single year he’s been president. Think we’ll be getting any of that for four to eight years? Trust me, you’ll look back and see him as much more pro-life than you give him credit for today.

In the meantime, if I could talk to him, I’d say thank you. Thanks for all of the things you’ve done for the country, and may God bless and keep you now and the rest of your life. I’ll miss hearing from you on Thursday.

Take care, Mr. President.

FOCA

President-Elect Obama has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, something that would wipe out all Pro-Life advances with one penstroke.

Find out more here, and sign the petition to stop FOCA.  (The site has the video to go with the text below.)

Sign the Fight FOCA Petition

Over 100,000 150,000 signatures!

Barack Obama is now the incoming President.

And he made a promise to Planned Parenthood last year they expect him to keep.

The first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing I’d do.

Reason to Homeschool, Number … Oh, Hell. Pick a Number, Any Number!

…because my eighth-grader will learn about real community servants, not Dear Leader.

I mean, come ON!!  The guy isn’t even president yet!

Christine

Tragedy!

600 Starbucks closing??!!??

Scrappleface to the rescue!

Congress to Halt Closing of Unprofitable Starbucks

By Scott Ott on pelosi

(2008-07-02) — Democrats in Congress today plan to introduce a bill to halt the recently-announced closing of some600 Starbucks coffee stores, noting that the displacement of 12,000 Starbucks baristas would overwhelm government aid offices not prepared to handle so many clients for whom English is a second language. Baristas, those who serve Starbucks beverages, speak a peculiar dialect that combines pseudo-Italian and American slang with inflections borrowed from ancient hemp-smoking cultures. “These people can’t just walk out of Starbucks and get a job at a grocery store or a factory,” said House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA. “They would need ESL classes and cultural training to learn how to relate to ordinary Americans and function in society.” Rep. Pelosi’s bill would subsidize the 600 money-losing Starbucks locations by giving away millions of taxpayer dollars in so-called ‘Venti Vouchers’ to residents of these hard-hit neighborhoods. If the effort fails to revive the flagging stores, Rep. Pelosi said Democrats would “seriously consider nationalizing the coffee industry to ensure the free flow of java at fair prices.” “This is just another one of our heroic Democrat efforts to protect Americans from the impact of the Bush economic policies,” said Rep. Pelosi. “Under this president, America has become a cold and desolate place where corporations cut unprofitable activities to focus on increasing the bottom line, and returning value to shareholders. When Democrats retake the White House next year, we will reverse that trend.”

[image source]

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Carl Olsen: Starting Power Forward for SLU!

Carl Olson has an excellent analogy for Coach Marjerus, who is being defiant of his archbishop and showing himself to be a less-than-orthodox Catholic. (Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, as one article points out that his mother is horrified by the situation, not because the son she raised to be Catholic is sticking his tongue out at the archbishop, but because the archbishop has the audacity to stick to the Spiritual Works of Mercy!)

Here’s a bit of Olson’s article, which I highly recommend you go and read in its entirety:

… Let’s say, just for sake of argument, that I am a player on Coach Marjerus’s team. He wants me, an already undersized power forward, to play center. He also demands that I practice for two hours a day, in addition to spending another two hours a day learning plays and watching film. On top of that, he has the audacity to inform me that he will be the one who decides when I play and how much I play. The problem is that I attended My Way High School and I learned a different set of value judgments. I was taught that I, being the star player and being a fully autonomous 18-year-old, should be able to practice and play however much I want and when I want. Who is the coach to tell me what I can do on the court? After all, I chose to play for his team, but that doesn’t mean I have to do what he says. I have every right to be a starter on the team and ignore his coaching and do what I want. …

Definitely go read the rest.

Of course, you’ve also got know-nothings in St. Louis who think that the archbishop of the Catholic diocese has no right to tell Catholics in his diocese that they ought to, as Catholics, follow what the Church teaches. What. Ever.

I’ll tell you this. My nine-year-old just said, “Well, he can believe what he wants. He has free will. But it’s true that he can’t receive Communion because those things are a sin.”

Come on, dude. If my nine-year-old gets it, how is it that someone with a degree from a Jesuit university does not? How is it that someone who has been through a Catholic college can think that you can dissent from the Church and still say you are a part of it?

Update(01-25-08, 8:52 a.m. EST): Olson continues to answer critics of the archbishop.

• Marjerus the Pro-Choice Martyr
• Clueless sports writers should stick to sports
• He also points out Ed Peters’ take in Two excellent canon law-related posts by Dr. Ed Peters…

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Extra Humor for Monday

I saw this at Just Doing My Best. I’m just glad I hadn’t taken a sip of coffee prior to reading it!

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A young man named Tony bought a donkey from an old farmer for £100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

When the farmer drove up the next day, he said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news…the donkey is on my truck, but he’s dead.”

Tony replied, “Well then, just give me my money back.”

The farmer said, “I can’t do that. I’ve already spent it.”

Tony said, “OK then, just unload the donkey anyway”.

The farmer asked, “What are you going to do with him?”

Tony thought for a few seconds and then said, “I’m going to raffle him off.”

To which the farmer exclaimed, “You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!”

But Tony, with a big smile on his face, said “Sure I can. Watch me. I just won’t tell anybody that he’s dead.”

A month later the farmer met up with Tony and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?”

Tony said, “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at £2 each and made a profit of £698.00.”

Totally amazed, the farmer asked, “Didn’t anyone complain that you had stolen their money because you lied about the donkey being dead?”

And Tony replied, “The only guy who found out about the donkey being dead was the raffle winner, when he came to claim his prize. So I gave him his £2 back plus £200 extra, which is double the going value of a donkey, so he thought I was a great guy.”

Tony grew up and eventually became the Prime Minister of Britain, and no matter how many times he lied or how much money he stole from British voters, as long as he gave them back some of the stolen money, large numbers of them still thought he was a great guy.

[image source, which actually has a slightly different version of the joke]