Unsubscribe Monday

Hey boys and girls, do you know what "Cyber Monday" is great for? Unsubscribing from all those spam or semi-spam emails you're getting.

I just unsubscribed from seven or eight emails. Usually these all come sporadically, so I just delete them rather than unsubscribing. But since everyone sends ads on "Cyber Monday", it is the perfect time to pull the spam up by the roots.

Feels good, man.

Just another tip from your buddy out on the internets.

Will they even make it to step one?

I might be pleasantly surprised and the Democrats might take the 12-step plan to recovery as advised by Emil Henry. But I very much doubt it. Maybe a few will. Excerpt:

4: This step requires brutal self-reflection, taking fearless inventory of all the actions that led to the Democrats’ electoral humiliation. Examples might include: an examination of why the lawmakers ignored abuses of power such as the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservatives; illegitimate executive orders; and bogus accounts of the Benghazi murders. Above all, Democrats must reflect on their role in the enactment of ObamaCare, with all the Congressional Budget Office gimmickry, legislative shenanigans and crony giveaways that got it passed.

5: Democrats should openly admit the exact nature of their wrongs. Begin with the spending binge that left the country $18 trillion in debt; finish up with how the Harry Reid -led Senate ran interference for the president, and for Democrats in tough re-election fights, by burying hundreds of bills passed in the House.

6: To shed their main defect—the tendency to perceive America as the problem—Democrats should spend some time on the road examining what alternatives to free-market capitalism and the rule of law look like. Mandatory stops include the Middle East, where real wars on women are waged, and the eurozone, where economic stagnation from years of tax-and-spend liberalism is on ample display. Also on the itinerary: Cuba, Venezuela and, sadly, too many other places to mention, where central control or its first cousin, socialism, produces a certain kind of income equality—across-the-board misery.

Step 11 is also worth emphasizing:

This step calls on Democrats to meditate and pray for the wisdom to internalize these steps and the strength to remain on a path of recovery. The lawmakers should look for inspiration in the example of others who found the strength to shed their former liberal compulsions: Ronald Reagan, Condoleezza Rice , Rudy Giuliani and Phil Gramm.

Points to Ponder from Phil Lawler's Upcoming Book

I really like this approach of Philip Lawler to the Church's current crises. The type of renewal we need is best served by non-institutional efforts, at least at this point. Priests and bishops should do what they do best, i.e., liturgy, homilies, sacraments, canon law, and leave "the rest" of the work of evangelization to the laity. What constitutes "the rest"? Lawler provides the example of EWTN:

My favorite example of this phenomenon—and arguably the greatest success story of 20th-century American Catholicism—is the growth of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). Who could have predicted that a cloistered nun with no background whatsoever in broadcasting, and with serious physical ailments, could found a Catholic radio-television empire that spans the globe? Mother Angelica began with nothing but a vision and a commitment supported by faith. She had no experience or expertise in broadcasting, no connections with the industry, no powerful corporate sponsors. For years she faced opposition from the US bishops’ conference, which poured millions of dollars into a competitive effort. Yet against all odds it was EWTN that prospered, while the lavishly funded effort by the bishops’ conference disappeared from the scene without leaving a trace.

Here's how he looks at the "Francis effect":

So let me ask the question again. Could there be something stirring within the Church: a subterranean rumbling, a movement for renewal that could burst forth to change the religious landscape? Since his election in March 2013, Pope Francis has prodded us all—not only Catholics, but the whole world—to look upon the work of the Church in a new way. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Pope Francis wants the Church to look at the world in a new way: with eyes fixed resolutely outward, concentrating first on the needs of our neighbors rather than on the internal housekeeping of Catholic institutions. His unconventional approach has caused some confusion—even a sense of disorientation—among faithful Catholics. But his popularity is undeniable. Thanks to “the Francis effect,” many more people are interested in the Catholic Church. People are asking questions about the Church, wondering if there is something about Catholicism that they have not quite understood. Yes, it is a time of great uncertainty; but it is also a time ripe for evangelization.

A lot of goofy ideas are floating to the surface recently, and they are based on a "spirit of Pope Francis" rather than authentic Catholic teaching. Some of these ideas floated up in a homily I heard recently given by a priest visiting from San Francisco. The man cherry-picked from every source he used—not just the pope's words—and served up the kind of thin gruel that turned the mainline protestant churches into ghost towns in the 20th century. I might blog about that in more detail later. The fact that I am able to communicate on the subject on this blog is the kind of thing that gives me hope. Good useful ideas will push out the useless, dopey ones. People will take the meat over the gruel when it is presented to them; that's the key.

A great religious revival does not necessarily begin with a formal announcement, and the people who take part in it do not necessarily realize that they are part of a historical movement. Decades from now, historians may look back and declare that a resurgence of the Catholic faith had already begun in the early years of the 21st century. They may even say that you and I helped to start it! And if a religious revival is gathering force in America today, it is arriving just in time to save our society from disaster.

In this book I am examining the influence of the Catholic Church on society, rather than on individual souls. Theoretically, I suppose, it is conceivable that a spiritual revival could occur without producing dramatic effects on society. But in practice, a vigorous movement of faith always produces social effects. A spirit of worship—of “cult” in the classical sense—cult gives birth to a culture.

By the way, this is not a brand new or unique approach to bringing the Gospel to the world. Opus Dei has been pushing this approach for years since its inception. It's actually the real intention of the Vatican II council which is supposed to be about the Catholic laity's role in the world, not the laity's role in the Church.

Pope Francis' Five Fingers of Prayer

You'll remember whom to pray for after you see this:

(Bigger version)

From Daily Meditations from Fr. Alfonse.   His daily posts are always interesting -- add his blog to your RSS feed.

Great Idea: Max Tax

Alternate MAXIMUM Tax? I like it. No, I love it! Here's an excerpt from John H. Cochrane's excellent piece:

I like half, but the principle matters more than the number. Once the country settles on a number, each of us gets to add up everything we pay to government at every level: federal income taxes, yes, but also payroll (Social Security, Medicare, etc.) taxes, state, city and county taxes, estate taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and unemployment insurance for nannies, household workers, or other employees, excise taxes, real-estate transfer taxes, and so on and on, right down to your vehicle stickers and those annoying extra taxes on your airline tickets.

On April 15, once this total hits the alternative maximum tax, you've done your bit and federal income taxes can take no more. You compute federal income taxes as usual, but then you get to reduce the "tax due" that the total is less than the alternative maximum.

The zombies howl that the top federal tax bracket is still "only" 40%. Surely "the rich" can contribute a bit more? They forget that the economic damage of taxes comes from the total tax bite, not just the federal income tax.

Great idea for protesting "Big Tobacco"

Here’s my great idea. In order to protest the many abuses of the tobacco industry (aka “Big Tobacco”), we will publicly burn their most popular product: the so-called tobacco cigarette. We will stand in PUBLIC and light the cigarettes on fire, breathe in the smoke and blow it out into the air. Then when we are done, we will throw the cigarettes on the ground and stomp on them so they are utterly destroyed, after which we will throw them in the garbage. We’ll make a video about this and put it on Youtube so everyone knows where we stand with regards to the evil tobacco companies. Then we’ll do it again in several hours. We will keep doing this until everybody knows where we stand, or until we run out of cigarettes and have to bum them from people in restaurant parking lots.

We have been told by some that this will be playing into the hands of the tobacco industry and will just give them an excuse to produce more cigarettes. They say it will just enable big tobacco to recruit more people engaged in a dangerous practice known in the Tobacco World as "smoking". BUT WE DON’T CARE! WE WILL DO IT ANYWAY!!

What do you think? Good idea?

Mike Huckabee's Petition

I'm not the biggest Huckabee fan out there, but I did sign his Balance, Cut, Save petition. It's short for "Balance the Budget, Cut Taxes, Save American families"—and I'm all for those three simple concepts, none of which the current White House administration appears to possess any kind of grasp.