Only Andrew Sullivan is surprised about this

Big thanks to Bubba for this gem about Andrew Sullivan's readership.

Andy, your 54.6% liberal audience (and just between you and me, some of those self-identifying moderates are likely operationally liberal) is not a function of your Obama love, which borders on worship. Your liberal audience and your Obama love are both symptomatic of the fact that — despite your self-identification as a conservative — your writing appeals primarily to the left.

Oddly enough, someone who considered voting for Al Gore in 2000, endorsed John Kerry in 2004 and is admittedly in the throes of a mancrush on the candidate who is the most liberal member of the Senate is not seen by most people as conservative. Throw in the anti-Bush hysteria that has been a staple of your blog since Pres. Bush decided to support the Federal Marriage Amendment (pure coincidence, of course), and you end up with a disproportionately left-liberal audience. You are Keith Olbermann with an accent.

I have to hand it to Sullivan for admitting this about who reads him. Of course, he still labors under the delusion that he's a conservative, but as many point out, he's on a lot of medication.

A Vatican "Service Bulletin" for a Serious Abuse

Coincidentally, I was just mentioning this exact invalid formula in an email to Bubba a few days ago:

The Vatican has warned that Baptism is not valid when the celebrant uses a popular new formula.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released a statement on February 29 saying that a baptism "in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier," is not a valid Christian sacrament.

The invalid formula, the Vatican statement points out, arises from feminist ideology, and an attempt "to avoid using the words Father and Son, which are held to be chauvinistic."

Aside from being a serious liturgical abuse which would offend any traditional Christian with its sheer arbitrariness, this formula depersonalizes God. It reduces Him from his existence through all eternity as a community of all-knowing, ever-loving persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to a gender-neutral super-entity with a triple job description. Referring to what He does for us rather than the Mystery of His Being practically objectifies God. But hey, feminists objected to the objectification of women by objectifying men as "sperm donors". So welcome to the club, God.

The Roman Catholic Church accepts valid baptisms from all the non-Catholic Christians who use water and recite the Trinitarian formula properly. Let's hope and pray to the Holy Spirit that those who were not validly baptized will get a do-over by someone who knows what they are supposed to be doing. This is more serious than a radiator fan relay recall.

American Food

Last night I asked my wife, "Is this meatloaf pizza?" and she said, "No -- it's Sloppy Joe pizza." Whoops. Did I ever feel stupid. But it made me remember this.



We're having spinach quiche tonight.

Santorum explains why Barack Obama is a harsh ideologue

and pro-infanticide.

Medved on Buckley's Way vs Cheap Shots

From his Townhall.com Commentary email:

In 82 years of supremely active living, William F. Buckley transformed American conservatism profoundly and permanently. He established once and for all that the phrase "conservative intellectual" wasn't a contradiction in terms. In the '50's and '60's, when the word "conservative" conjured images of grumpy old men, the dashing Buckley showed that right wing activism could be fun, frisky, elegant and invigorating. He relished playing Bach on the harpsichord, sailing, writing spy novels, and hosting a long-running TV show on PBS--normally a bastion of establishment liberalism.

Like his friend Ronald Reagan, Buckley brought sunny, sparkling energy to the conservative moment, and shunned its bigoted, mean-spirited extremes. Ironically, his passing coincides with embarrassing controversy over an angry talk show host using Barack Obama's middle name as a form of insult and attack. That's the kind of cheap shot that happy warrior Bill Buckley would have characterized as beneath the dignity of his great cause.

Medved doesn't bring up the host's name and I won't either. I remember the same host was gleeful with his part during the last ditch attempt in the Blackwell campaign to smear Strickland with the gay tag. Tell me, Mr. Cincinnati, how did that work out?

If we can't find anything negative with what Barack Obama has done or said or the associations he's had with subversive ideologies then we all might as well throw in the towel.

Go clean the erasers

I was strongly reminded of this exchange from Get Shorty between Chili Palmer (played by Travolta) and Martin Ferrero's character, Tommy Carlo.

Carlo: Where the hell are you?
Palmer: I'm in LA now.
Carlo: What are you doin' out there?
Palmer: I'm going into the movie business - producing.
Carlo: What do you know about makin' movies?
Palmer: Producers don't have to know much.

Well, after reading this piece on crossover voters, I'm thinking of a new profession, too: Political Science Teacher. They obviously don't have to know much either. Tell me this Tony Campbell guy is ready for prime time:

Campbell, who claims to be pro-life, said he is not bothered by Obama's stance on the issue, because he doesn't think either candidate will change the status of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme decision that legalized the procedure nationwide.

"If abortion is such an issue with Republicans, why haven't Republican presidents over the past 30 years done something about it?" Campbell said. "Is it fair to ask a Democrat to do what the Republicans haven't done?"

So the appointments of Alito and Roberts don't count as doing anything about it. Or Thomas -- he did say 30 years. Oh, yeah... there was also the Bork-ing of Bork. But that had nothing to do with abortion How about Bush signing the Partial Birth Abortion ban? Clinton vetoed it twice. No difference?

Wow, you sure can learn a lot from teachers. Actually I heard that Laura Ingraham was going to have this guy on this morning, but I didn't catch the interview, so I don't know how many pieces she cut him into. But I googled his name to find these remarks. I'm sure he sounds convincing to those ignorant of recent political history.

I can see the point that many in the pro-life movement are always making that they wish that Reagan, Bush and Bush had done more for the cause, but to dismiss any contributions since 1978 should get anyone paying attention to scratch their heads, not to mention many hard-core NARAL types who continually make abortion an issue every four years. Honestly, the guy doesn't sound like any sane Republican I know, even a pro-choice one.

The other guy the article mentions, Peter Wehner from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, was making more sense.

"(Obama) is completely an orthodox liberal," Wehner said, adding that most of Obama's speeches don't reveal much about his ideology. "I don't think it's well known where he stands."

and

Wehner predicts that by the time the 2008 election rolls around, it will be business as usual.

"I think the uplifting, airy appeal of Obama is going to dissipate, and it's going to become a more traditional campaign," he said.

Buckley's Interview with Malcolm Muggeridge on Firing Line

Cubeland Mystic comments on how Buckley help change his life for the better.

"Over 20 years ago, I was channel surfing at a time in my life when I was kind of lost and in need of some guidance. As I recall it was late evening before cable, most certainly a Sunday, past the time of sports, probably in an off season.

Dying faith, no guiding philosophy, and no direction, the channel stopped on PBS, while these two older men discussed God. I was fixated. I don't recall if it was a 30 minute or 60 minute program, but I had never heard such richness of conversation in my life. Depth, conviction, intellect, and all directed toward understanding faith and God. Every sentence was clear and meaningful. It was Buckley interviewing Muggeridge.

I did not really know what a conservative was I had no faith, nor did I understand how savage politics could be, all I knew at that point is I wanted to be like them. I ordered up the transcript, and kept it till this day. That Firing Line changed my life. It would take another decade before I realized myself to be a conservative, and to finally revert back to Roman Catholicism. Thank you Mr. Buckley, you made a difference in my life. Rest In Peace, and please pray for us."

Via Dave Armstrong's site, I found an edited, online transcript of the broadcast as well as a Real Audio feed of the entire broadcast. The picture I posted here is courtesy of Cubeland Mystic.

Thanks for reading my blog. For current commentary and what-not, visit the Est Quod Est homepage

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Passing of William F. Buckley, Jr.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2008 — Before there was Goldwater or Reagan, there was Bill Buckley.

From writing books, to creating, leading and sustaining National Review Magazine, to his 33-year run as the host of Firing Line on television, Bill Buckley became the indispensable intellectual advocate from whose energy, intelligence, wit, and enthusiasm the best of modern conservatism drew its inspiration and encouragement.

It was not until William F. Buckley, Jr., founded National Review Magazine in 1955 that the tide began to slowly turn for conservatives. National Review was a lonely voice of conservatism in an overwhelmingly liberal establishment. Buckley began what led to Senator Barry Goldwater and his Conscience of a Conservative that led to the seizing of power by the conservatives from the moderate establishment within the Republican Party. From that emerged Ronald Reagan. Bill stood up to defend freedom as a positive value of greater moral worth than either the state and the elite, and over time his work had a transformational impact on the quality of American politics that continues even today.

He was a wonderful friend, a great patriot, and a lively human being. Callista and I are praying for him and those who loved him. He will be missed.

SOURCE Gingrich Communications

Rick Tyler
Press Secretary & Spokesperson for Speaker Newt Gingrich
+1-540-338-1250
ricktyler@newt.org