The Perky Papist

Um, it's not exactly Vietnam, guys

Canada Urged to Give Refuge to U.S. Deserters

There are not words strong enough to say how despicable I find these two young men. Or how silly I find those who would use them as "noble" anti-war figures. This is primarily, though not solely, because these days are not even remotely similar to the previous era; signing up for a volunteer army is not quite the same as being drafted. You know what you're getting into and nobody's making you. I don't want to hear, "I just thought I'd pay for my education"; that's one of the dumbest arguments I've ever heard, and I have heard it. And look at this:

Condon said Hinzman and Hughey were disturbed by the military training they received, before making the decision to flee to Canada.

Oh. So, like, was Pvt. Hinzman "disturbed by the military training" he received before he went to Afghanistan (where Canadian troops are also peacekeeping, mind), or after he returned to the States but before he was to leave for Iraq (which is unpopular with "Blue Canada", if there is such a thing, and I advise Canadian politicos/observers/etc. to devise some such handy shorthand as we were given by the 2000 election - perhaps something from the current election will give them a similar phrase).

So now these boys are maxin' and relaxin' in the Toronto spring, while their fellow troops are taking risks to life and limb in sticky Iraq, trying to secure freedom and lay a foundation for a multi-culti democracy (how Canadian!) while beating off threats from "religious wackos" to make Svend Robinson grateful for nice "homophobic" Catholics and Evangelicals. Hmph. This is a very sad lefty-Canadian reaction (that includes American emigres like Mr. Condon): Any stick to beat the mean ol' nasty U. S. is good enough . . .

They all sound like bozos to me

Colvig to Join Clown Hall of Fame As Bozo

Apropos of everything . . .

. . . a comments-box quote from Elinor Dashwood:

A dear friend of ours has a sister who, though now retired, was a professor of literature and a highly respected Dante scholar. Somebody at a party once told her that he didn't bother with her subject, because Dante bored him. She replied with spurious sympathy, "Yes, I suppose so. And only think how you would have bored Dante." I've adapted her answer for use with people who say they just don't need God.

Great article on Terri Schindler-Schiavo

From NRO's Deroy Murdock

Brilliant "DaVinci Code" satire

From Mark Shea's blog:

A reader writes:

I wrote this letter to my family after they insisted I read The DaVinci Code. The book changed my life totally, as you can see.

Dear Family,

I have now finally read The DaVinci Code, and I gave it to Mike, and he read it, too. We both liked it a lot, and it made us think, and we both like to think, just like all of you. This book has changed how we think about everything.

Due to the consistent way we like to live our lives, Mike and I are pleased to tell all of you (who have read and enjoyed this book, we are aware, too) that we can no longer remain under the yolk of a false and wrong church. The fact that all of the information in DaVinci Code was hidden from us all these years helps to make up our minds. We could not possibly remain in such a church.

We are currently searching for a new church. Have any of you found a church which worships the Sacred Feminine, such as described in DaVinci? Or are we supposed to just kind of make up our own form of worship? We aren’t sure how to proceed, and hoped, since you all read this book way before we did, that you might have some answers for us.

We’re so glad we can now join in on the family conversations about this book, and all of the truths it so stunningly reveals. Thanks to all of you for introducing us to this new life in the Sacred Feminine.

Love,

Nancy & Mike (BTW, our new names are Magdalene and Dan, after the goddess Mary Magdalene, and the fact-revealing author of our new sacred text, The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown)

Click on over to Mark's blog for his comment and some good reader comments, too.

Lion lays down with lion?

Lord knows I'm no fan of the Nation of Islam, but if this truly brings peace, God bless it.

Rival Gangs Agree to Truce in New Jersey City

Interesting twist on Chinese tradition

New moms in China rejecting ritual

(Obviously, I disagree with the Trib's headline writer.) Moms today would do better to take showers and lay off the eggs, although there were good reasons for "strange" observances in the past, so finding a modern way to observe zuo yuezi sounds on the face of it like a good compromise between yesterday and today.

I know I'm late getting this up, but . . .

. . . get Kathy Shaidle's new book here!

A by-product of "the Great Enema"

Archdiocese announces 60 churches will close

Trying to find the positive side . . . perhaps this will help in getting away from "The Church La-Z-Boy" and back to "The Church Militant". God bless all in Boston.

Michael Moore, you've just won the Palme d'Or!

In your honor, Mark Steyn is rerunning his post-Oscar column from last year.

THE WHOPPER

An excerpt:

Off-camera, the act's not so funny. Here is his initial reaction to September 11, as posted on his website:

"Many families have been devastated tonight. This just is not right. They did not deserve to die. If someone did this to get back at Bush, then they did so by killing thousands of people who DID NOT VOTE for him! Boston, New York, DC, and the planes' destination of California - these were places that voted AGAINST Bush!"

So Mohammed Atta should have dive-bombed his jet into New Hampshire or Alabama?

September 11 was a great clarifying event - within two or three days, we had adjusted to it and absorbed it, but for a few hours that Tuesday what we said and did as we watched office workers jump to their deaths offered a definitive glimpse into who we really are. It's not the politics - in the heat of the moment, to ascribe the event to Bush's rejection of Kyoto is perfectly understandable - but the stunted ugliness of measuring the justness or otherwise of murder according to how one filled in one's ballot. That's the real Michael Moore.

Nothing "fictitious" about that.

By the way, one can hardly be surprised that Moore took top honors at Cannes, considering how much the French prize tripe.