Category Archives: essays, editorials, fisks, and rants

WTF?! Wednesday: Guest Rant!!

Surprise, surprise… I’m not the only one with a rant!  I’ve had a number of folks contact me about wanting to contribute to a “WTF?! Wednesday” post, or to Reality 101 in general.  Some aren’t comfortable yet with broadcasting their names all over the internet (Can you believe that?  Someone uncomfortable with the thought of their name or information scattered all over the place… the nerve…), others want the lovely shield of anonymity (from?  Who knows… family, friends, colleagues… hell, people can be judgemental, ya know?), and even others just want to let loose and rant.  I say, “Have at it!”   (See the rules below)

Continue reading

Heroic Disappointment

John McCain went on Leno last night. In reference to a recent gaffe, when McCain couldn’t remember how many houses he owns, Jay asked him, “How many houses do you have?”

Everybody knows that John McCain was a prisoner of war, that he suffered more than five years of imprisonment. Most people, even those who serve in the military, do not experience such terrible things in service to their nation, and McCain certainly deserves respect for what he gave.

But when he responded to Jay Leno last night, he turned that awful time in his life into a trite dodge:

Continue reading

Sacrifice and the “Dark Knight”

If the world is one big high school dance, then Christians, and especially Catholics, tend to be the wallflowers, while the rest of the world dances away in the center of the gym, usually not respecting the two basketball distance which universally defines chastity.Okay, I exaggerate: there have been some Catholics who got their groove on while remaining good Catholics: St. Francis of Assisi comes to mind, and so does St. Philip Neri.(The latter was the guy who put the bucket of water over the slightly opened door so that it spilled on the principal when he made his appearance.It was all in good fun, though.)

The wallflowers sit out dance after dance with good reason, mind you.There is not much going on at half court which can be done in good conscience.The kids whispering by the foul line have mainly foul things to say.So I don’t blame the wallflowers, let’s be clear on that.

The problem is, the wallflowers have received a command from another man along the wall—the one whose crucified image in fact hangs on the wall of this gymnasium and who unfortunately has to watch the scene unfold too—a command ordering them to cut in and get people to dance to a different tune.But there is always the problem of what to say to the guy or gal whose dance you are interrupting…

Continue reading

The Current State of My Political Philosophy

I believe that the government that governs best governs least, but I would not call myself a through-and-through, principled libertarian. I’d prefer that the federal government be severely limited in its powers. Generally, I believe that governmental powers should be no greater than inversely proportional to a government’s scope. I believe such a notion is compatible with subsidiarity.

Continue reading

WTF?! Wednesday: Dedoublement

I realize that not everyone is capable of dedoublement*, and I don’t know if it can be taught.  What I do know is that there would be an significant decrease in drama, wasted time, pain, and anger if it could.  I would wager that only roughly 45% of the people I know are capable of detaching themselves from situations to look at things from a cold, factual, objective point of view.  Those people tend to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves.  Sometimes they’re also considered cut-throat or heartless, but it’s not necessarily a requirement. 

I have watched family, friends, and even public figures nearly, if not completely, destroy themselves (careers, relationships, friendships, you name it) because they refuse to even attempt to remove their own emotions from the equation and look at facts.  I don’t just mean personal feelings, as in how you feel, but how society plays into your understanding of circumstances as well.  If people were more honest about facts, behaviors, and their contributions, people’s lives would be a hell of a lot more different.

Continue reading