Death of Prince Alexandre de Rethy (Belgium)

It is with sadness that I note the death of Prince Alexandre de Rethy, whose 1965 visit to Palm Beach (and our home) was documented in the piece A Royal Visit: Prince Alexandre de Rethy’s Visit to Palm Beach. He passed away 29 November 2009 due to an acute pulmonary embolism.  He was 67. My …

The Russians are Right About Barack Obama

This, from Ivan Krastev, in the Washington Post: Obama himself is largely viewed in Russia as the American Mikhail Gorbachev, but Russians are less impressed than other Europeans have been with Obama's brilliance and rock-star popularity. They remember the Gorbi-mania that conquered the globe at the moment the Soviet Union was about to crumble. Russians …

The Canon of the Mass: The Anaphora of Hippolytus

The form and structure of liturgies is something that churches which employ these in worship either take for granted or argue over intensely. But very few people understand how a) these came into being or b) how they should be revised or replaced in times of liturgical change. What kind of theology is embodied in …

The Millionaire Episcopal Minister Makes an Impact

VirtueOnline chronicles the adventures of the Rev. Marta Weeks in her quest for same sex marriage: The American Anglican Council blew the whistle on the "Listening process" revealing that a $1.5 million gift came from The Rev. Marta Weeks, a retired Episcopal priest. Now Meeks openly advocates same-sex blessings. The money given by the Episcopal …

An Additional Note to my Roman Catholic Friends on “Think Before You Convert”

Think Before You Convert was, in the wake of the Pope's Apostolic Constitution re the Anglo-Catholics, the most popular place on this blog. It's still a frequented stop. However, I get regular comments from Roman Catholics re my supposed position about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the nature of authority in …

The White House’s Thankless Thanksgiving: But at Least They Squared Things With the Native Americans

E.J. Dionne, of all people, found that our President's Thanksgiving message falls flat: The Gawker Web site called it an "uninspiring first effort from our most literary president" and expressed hope that he would spend "a little more time on it next year." Politico damned it with faint analysis -- it was "basic" and "brief" …

Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed, and a Reflection on the New Age Idea

This is the last in the series of music videos from music alluded to in the novel The Ten Weeks. But it's not a video: it's a more prosaic "photo and sound clip" combo from a scene in the book combined with a brief excerpt from the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed. This album …

Climategate? Don’t Dump Your Alternative Energy Stocks Just Yet

James Delingpole's otherwise excellent article starts off with a suggestion that needs some challenging: If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the …

Obama and the Chinese: Doing the Deal, A Personal Reflection Based on Experience

I find it odd that I'm seeing articles on the left on how Obama's Asia trip has left many of them disappointed.  For example, this, from Leslie Gelb at the Daily Beast: President Obama’s nine-day trip to Asia is worth a look back to fix two potent problems, past and future. First, the trip’s limited …

The NEA: At Last, Something Everyone Can Agree On

If Larry Sands is to be believed. From his article in City Journal: On the last day of the National Education Association’s convention this summer, its outgoing general counsel, Bob Chanin, gave a speech for the ages. After sharing fond recollections of his 41 years as the NEA’s top lawyer, he switched gears and started …

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started