The Demography Wars (Dance Mix)

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Following Mark Steyn’s excellent expose of the affluent West’s demographic suicide in It’s the Demography, Stupid, Phillip Longman presents an intruiguing piece at Foreign Policy entitled The Return of Patriarchy. Longman writes:

"Throughout the broad sweep of human history, there are many examples of people, or classes of people, who chose to avoid the costs of parenthood. Indeed, falling fertility is a recurring tendency of human civilization. Why then did humans not become extinct long ago? The short answer is patriarchy."

For those who equate patriarchy with misogyny, go get an education. For those who think of parenthood more as a consumer choice (wittingly or otherwise) than a sacrificial commitment to transcendant goods, go take a peek at your future.

Update 03/19/06:  Annie Gottlieb (Ambivablog) has tossed in her two cents on this matter.

Postcard from the Wilderness

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This first Sunday of Lent presents me with the opportunity to come in from the wilderness of an http-less life and blog a bit about the baptism of our children last weekend at our Parish. This I’ve done over at the Smedley Log, owned and operated by my brother-in-law Howard, long-time friend of this blog, and Godfather to said children. Get the story, complete with pictures HERE.

Too Weird For Words

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From time to time I get bizarre email. Some of it is from Fundies giving me a “drive-by” Bible-thumping. Some is from Muslims trying to enlighten me. Most is spam. Occasionally, though, I get a message that I just can’t quite classify. It’s something so strange that it just has to be shared with the world. In that spirit, I give you the email “drinkme” by “super genius from outer space”.

“A conduct can be pathological or non pathological (phisiological), no
external or middle case is expected. 90% of the people who killed a parent
is declared mentally healthful, this means: non pathological conduct,
phisiological conduct (genetic or non genetic), good doctor, not ‘infected
cattle’.”

“Medicine is an exact science, jurisprudence is an exact science. Enemies and
friends, of the mental hygiene only : war between doctors isn’t expected
value; Fighting with islam against the devil : announcing this obvious
information could save some health.
Siegmund Freud lies not knowing to be lying: he is a conceptual pedophile
who says children has sexual attraction for parent (edipus) and that mind is
partitioned in 3 parts (ego superego es). False premiss brings wrong result:
like Freud says, cognitive error is associated with pathological conduct,
biological group self-destructive activity.
‘Your parent acts with you like with friends’: the medical doctor must
suggest this or enhanced reflection to the habitants, for excluding
non-genetic behavioral epidemics. Slapping child is a crime and a mania,
like by the general rule, ‘if child doesn’t born genetically stupid,
handicapped, diseased, socially dangerous’. Habitants of the planet kill
gays but children don’t born gays, habitants corrupt and kill children doing
a ‘sacrifice to the devil’: this non genetic epidemic is familiarly but not
geneticaly transmitted.”

“With baptism christians forgive themselfs from god’s sentence.
If vegetarian diet gives longer and better life than non-vegetarian diet,
non-vegetarian diet is alimentary behavior pathology. Eating another
human is a behavioral disturb; a cow has 96,5% dna perfectly matching
with human dna. I am racist: i think animals is inferior race, so i don’t
have to eat cadavers, thing that induce a phisiological genetic reflex :
vomiting.”

“You are authorized by the author to the use u think is necessary, pls
forward. This is a final version or close, you will be excluded from future
mailing.”

The last bit really caught my attention. This bad acid trip is somebody’s idea of a final version. What of, I do not know.

New St. Blog’s Drinking Game

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I think it’s about time parishoners in St. Blog’s created a new version of the St. Blog’s drinking game. The Catholic sector of the blogosphere has changed suffieciently to warrant it. Here’s my suggestion for the first new rule:

Take a drink whenever Mark Shea uses the word "agitprop". Chug if he engages in debate with pro-torture folks or Andrew Sullivan.

What new rules would you add? 🙂

Addendum 1: I forgot to mention that if the list turns out well, It’ll get posted at the Catholic Blogs and Resources page. 

Addendum 2: This meant to be fun, so don’t be mean.  Also, though some bloggers have really active and interesting comment sections, try to keep the focus on the blogger him/herself.

Remember That You Are Dust, And To Dust You Shall Return

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“Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

On the first day of Lent we heard these words (adapted from Genesis 3:19) spoken as a priest dipped his thumb in ash and made the sign of the cross on our foreheads. They served as an outward sign of an inner penance and a symbol of mortality. We wore those ashes for the remainder of the day, or at least until they rubbed off. Wherever we went and whatever we did, we were witnesses to the faith. Those who saw us know that we have been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ and hope to share in His resurrection.

More people attend Ash Wednesday mass than Christmas or even Easter, the holiest day of the year. That alone is impressive, but more impressive is the fact that it’s not even a Holy Day of Obligation. We are obliged to attend Sunday mass and a handful of special occasions, but that rarely guarantees universal or even majority attendance. A recent survey found that only a third of those who identify themselves as Catholic attends mass weekly. Yet a great many of the remaining two-thirds will take time out of their work day to attend a morning or midday Ash Wednesday mass to receive ashes.

Why do people make such special efforts? Would we still attend if we didn’t have something to show for it? Are we publicly displaying our piety, real or pretended, seeking the admiration of men?

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