I don't think I ever realized it before, and maybe I am mistaken. I think the subtle message presented by our media is that Israel is something like, say, Iran or Syria: brutal crushers of minorities who hate poorer, weaker, religious groups, and so on. I never really thought about it until I watched the video below. Think about it. Is that the general vibe you've gotten?

Now, I am not in any way legitimating bulldozing poor people's homes (I know that liberals wouldn't support that unless the poor people were Israeli kibbutzim). I am just suddenly wondering, and I mean that, for the first time: maybe the situation in Israel vis-a-vis its minority populations is more nuanced and complex than is presented by our mainstream media. I know that seems unlikely, given the quality and thoughtfulness of the media's presentation of world affairs, but just consider the possibility.

And enjoy the video.

An amazing story of a woman's conversion from atheist feminist to a Christian. Thanks, Anchoress!

Fellow citizens, even Jon Stewart gets this. Why is the MSM being so silent? Has anyone even heard that President Obama and the supposedly gridlocked Congress have agreed on one thing: that American citizens are not entitled to trial by jury before being jailed forever?

In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering.

-- Pope Benedict XVI

Enjoy!

I like the Simpsons. The family is not the ideal set of role models, their relationships aren't perfect, and they might not even be suitable viewing for younger children. But they love each other, have a married mother and father under the same roof, make it work in spite of their dysfunctions, and have some real gems of wisdom sprinkled among the goofiness. That's more than you can count on getting in 90% of the televised propaganda that passes for entertainment these days. Please consider exhibit A before dismissing my argument.

Homer Simpson to Ned Flanders: "I've learned that the only way a relationship can survive is forgiving. Endless, endless forgiving," (Episode 2222, "The Ned-liest Catch", minutes 18:00 to end have the best value).

Well, it happened. "The new Mass," as one priest I heard kept calling it, has been "imposed upon the American Church," as one amateur theologian I know has kept saying for a number of years. Despite their dire predictions, the Pillar and Bulwark of Truth (1 Tim 3:15) that is the Church has not come crashing down.

"People won't understand a thing," the same amateur theologian told me, and asked in exasperation, "and who knows what the heck consubstantial means?"

When this question was put to me, rhetorically, a couple years ago, I responded only, "I wonder whether people know what one in being means?" Now, at least, a few things will be clearer to us. We do not know what we are saying at Mass. Of course, on a certain level, we can never fully understand either consubstantial or one in being, but it is part of the Catholic genius that we do not dismiss a mystery, but rather dig into it as deeply as we can with the minds that God gave us for just that purpose. The word consubstantial has the inarguable benefit of alerting to the fact that we don't fully understand what we are reciting. And so it is true that on some levels we can understand consubstantial and one in being, and we can certainly understand that whatever they mean, they mean the same thing.